The Skittles Incident
by NothingAtAllImportant
Summary: It started because Percy Jackson, who's no Cupid, was throwing Skittles at Nico di Angelo to get him to 'embrace his inner rainbow'. Will Solace, who was surprisingly single, happened to witness this episode. But with an obsessed stalker on their tails, can they ever catch a break? Solangelo High School AU, rated T for cursing and kissing. Complete.
1. So, The Whole Thing Started - Will

**Thank you clicking on this story!**

 **So, here's a little guide to the text messages:**

 **SolaceShine: Will**

 **MistGirl: Lou Ellen**

 **CeleryStyx: Cecile**

 **TropicalPunch: Calypso**

 **FortuneTeller: Rachel**

SolaceShine here, welcome to my journal! Gods, it sounds like I'm introducing one of Austin's videos! This story is a document of the last month or so in my life, where a lot of stuff changed and I want to remember exactly what happened. So, the whole thing started about a month ago...

I was leaning against my lockers in the lunch hour, minding my own buisness and goofing around on my phone, sending lots of homework due dates and photos of textbook pages to Lou Ellen, who was ill with an awful cold she'd got when she went to England in the summer break.

 **SolaceShine: Typical of British weather huh?**

 **MistGirl: You got that right! My brother caught it and then I got it off him**

 **CeleryStyx: Britain has sucky weather. Am I right, or am I right?**

I was halfway through typing my response of _Ur right Celery_ when a roar of "Jackson!" shook me away from the screen. I looked up to see Nico di Angelo racing through the crowds of friends milling around in the halls while they rooted through their lockers.

I have this stupid game of trying to describe the clothing of random people, but my description of Nico was highly vague now I look back. Now, I've been close to those eyes, studied the shape of his face, but, back then, I only had the front he showed off to the world. He was clad in black skinny jeans and a black unzipped hoodie over a black t-shirt that depicted a cartoon skeleton sipping a cocktail under a tropical umbrella.

' _Schist, he's an absolute titch!'_ I thought, studying the darting figure with my quick eyes. ' _He can't be more than five foot, surely.'_ Of course, I regretted letting myself think about this mysterious figure for too long, because my brain soon wandered off to thinking, ' _And he's hot as Hades.'_

I mentally slapped myself, cursing my sexuality as I thought being gay was the worst. No one beyond my closest friends and siblings knew, and even then not everyone knew. I hated myself for it. I shook myself from my depressing and deterring thoughts, convincing myself that being gay was as good as being straight.

As I chided myself that I was equal to everyone else, the goth boy of the school had slipped into the boys' bathrooms next to me and locked himself in a stall. "Build a bridge and get over it, Jackson!" he exclaimed.

The one with sea green eyes sighed. I recognised him from when I had caught him making out with that blonde nerdy girl in the library last year. Whatever-her-name-was had become seriously badass in recent times, so I wouldn't mess with her. For real, last week as I write this, she kicked Octavian in the gut for insulting her favourite book. Anyway, on with the story!

"I was just trying to get him to embrace his inner rainbow," he sighed. I thought his name was Perry, but I wasn't sure. Now, I'm kicking myself for thinking that, and sounding like Mr. D. At the time, I just smirked. "Percy Jackson, right?" I asked. ' _Ah, I got the name right!'_ I thought happily. "Take it from another gay that doing _this_ ," I gestured to the Skittles on the floor and in his hand. "Isn't the best way to go about it."

When I got home, I sat at my neat desk and pulled out a biro, completing my Maths algebra, English book review, Science anatomy diagram labelling, and History essay in about an hour. I took almost half an hour on the essay about King Henry VIII of England. We were writing about how reports of him from the time and current reports were different. I did sort of use the line I had given in class, which was 'Mr. Chiron, I think the report from the Venetian Ambassador was written when he _hadn't_ slaughtered two of his wives', but I got way too into it. Next, I pulled out a math textbook and spent another hour revising for the algebra test the next day. I had been studying for almost two weeks, an hour a day and more at weekends, but I wanted to do the best I could.

After that, I pulled out my phone and typed a message on the chat. My phone had been on silent, but all I had missed was a carry-on from the 'typical British' jokes I had started after the 'Skittles incident'.

 **SolaceShine: I'm gonna ACE the exam!**

 **CeleryStyx joined the chat**

 **TropicalPunch joined the chat**

 **CeleryStyx: How?**

 **SolaceShine: I revised every night for two weeks. One hr every night and about 6 hrs every weekend. And I've done all my hw for tomorrow**

 **Fortune Teller joined the chat**

 **FortuneTeller: Ok ok u got this 1 in the bag!  
TropicalPunch: Guess wut?**

 **MistGirl joined the chat**

 **SolaceShine: Wut? I guess wut...**

 **MistGirl: ur a smartass Will**

 **TropicalPunch: The pranksters set me up with RepairBoy and I went on a coffee date with him!**

 **MistGirl: Who? Julia Feingold and Alice Miyazawa?**

 **TropicalPunch: Thats them**

 **SolaceShine: Poor u!**

 **TropicalPunch: I really like him!**

 **TropicalPunch: Here's how it happened! Voice Message -**

I lifted the speaker to my ear, eager to hear her voice message. "So, we met up in Starbucks and he ordered us some drinks. Then, we talked for a while about school, the pranks of the duo, and what torture we'd like to inflict on the teachers. We're meeting up again tomorrow!"

 **CeleryStyx: Lucky u! Punch got her love!  
TropicalPunch: 1 date, Styx**

 **CeleryStyx: STILL!**

 **FortuneTeller: So the news is that Will had a secure A in his math exam and Punch scored a boy**

 **MistGirl: Pretty much**

 **SolaceShine: Can't wait for my A**

 **SelercyStyx: Keep boasting Sunshine**

 **Solace Shine: Yeah yeah. Did u lot c Percy J chasing Nico d A with Skittles 2day?**

 **MistGirl: say wut now?**

 **SolaceShine: Yeah, u heard me... Voice Message -**

I groaned, bringing the phone to my mouth to record a message. "Percy was chasing Nico, throwing Skittles at him, screaming 'Embrace your inner rainbow!' When Nico locked himself in a toilet stall, I told Percy 'take it from me, another gay, doing that won't work' and walked off."

I grinned when a ton of messages blinked through.

 **FortuneTeller: When did u get so smooth?**

 **SolaceShine: uhhh**

 **FortuneTeller: gtg 2 dinner**

 **MistGirl: HA! So, u think he's gay?**

 **SolaceShine: Do we REALLY have to go there?**

 **CeleryStyx: Just a question shit kebabs!**

 **SolaceShine: It's sheesh kebabs, bright spark. And, honestly, yes**

 **MistGirl: OMG!**

 **SolaceShine: Shut up I just thought it was funny**

 **TropicalPunch: Yeah yeah... ok I agree we're overreacting**

 **SolaceShine: THANK YOU CALLIE! So Misty how r u**

 **MistGirl: might be back in 2 days. It depends. I gtg to sleep bye**

 **SolaceShine: Night, then**

 **TropicalPunch: Sleep well! I'm going out to eat bye**

 **CeleryStyx: CYA! I gotta go get dinner**

I turned off my phone, sighing. I pulled out my English History textbook and sat at my desk, reading about Henry VII and his switch between Catholic and Protestant so he could divorce. I loved (and still love) English History and what we were studying. We were starting a partner project the next day so I figured that if I swotted up it'd be easier for my partner and I, whoever I got paired up with.

Di Angelo was in my history class, he always answered the hardest questions, got an A on every test, and he was really persuasive. He'd probably convince our history teacher, Mr. Chiron (or Chiron, as we know him) to give him Percy and Jason as a partner if he tried. And Chiron wasn't easily swayed. I had a hunch that he paired us up depending on the couples he thought were cute and, writing this a month after he paired us up, I can say it is mostly true. I think, anyway.

I walked downstairs and flopped onto the couch in the games room. Two hours of school work really took it out of me.

"Dinner!" Austin yelled, making me drop the Rubix cube I was messing with. I shoved it on the side and made my way to the cluttered kitchen, stepping over all the random junk to sit on the oldest and most rickety stool, which Lee had made about six years ago as a school project.

As I write, it's been a month since a mouthful of Austin's disgusting chicken, mushy pea, and mint stew hit my tongue, but just _writing_ that makes me taste it sliding down my throat. In hindsight - and a month's hindsight, at that - I can see that it may have been a good idea to force Austin _out_ of cooking, had I known what was coming.

While we all choked down Austin's awful concoction, he began to talk. "So," Austin mumbled around a mouthful of chicken. "What went down today?"

I set down my fork, unattractively hawking up my food into my napkin and tossing it into the bin. "Usual. Lou Ellen was ill because she caught the typical British cold. I spent a lot of time on the chat with her."  
Victoria grinned. "So _that's_ where the 'Bloody Britian' message on the sibling chat came up! We thought you messaged on the wrong chat!"

"Oh, that's what I did," I wondered. "I've got my math exam as well. I've studied every night so I should score an A."

Victoria nodded. "I've got my history partner project but I got paired up with bloody _Butch_!"

Austin put a hand over his mouth so he wouldn't choke on his food. Victoria and I are in the same year, but we have different mothers, so we're not twins. Yes, my dad, back in his 'rebellious years', fucked (pardon my French) 2 women in the space of three months.

"Watch your mouth," he smirked.

Oh, if only Austin knew the word I wrote for the world to see. I turned to Kayla. "Random fact of the day?"

She smiled gleefully. "What if all the talking mirrors in fairytales were just based off a careless time traveller seen using their phones?"

I smirked, tugging out my phone and bringing it up to my mouth. "Siri, Siri, on my phone, how the fuck do I get home?"

Austin slapped his hand over my mouth. "Zip it!"  
"Pardon my French?" I smirked.

Kayla tapped my hand, pointing at my plate. I turned to Austin. "Okay, I have a riddle for you..."

While I distracted Austin, Kayla and Victoria collected up all our plates and shoved all the food in the bin. Close call.

When we clambered down from the table, Kayla asked me to play pool (snooker or snookie for all you British people) with her, so I agreed. I set up the balls in a standard triangle (for all of you who laughed, I'm 14, grow up). Kayla flipped her green and ginger bob when she potted her first ball (I hear you, one person who is laughing uncontrollably), despite the fact I had already potted five.

She _is_ only 12, but a mature 12 at that. She's a minor, but she had all social media. Seriously, all. Snapchat, Instagram, WhatsApp, Twitter, FaceBook, Tumblr, Pinterest, Reddit, Vine, you name it, she has it. She is always pulling kissy faces, posting jokey pictures on Twitter, editing photos of her school friends for Instagram, freaking friends out on SnapChat with strange message, doing strange things for Vine, pinning _so much stuff_ on Pinterest, and so... much... Facebook.

That _does_ explain why I almost banged my head on the table when she showed me the photo she had posted on Instagram with the caption 'Beating my big bro 0-1... LOL!' because she beat me in the first game. I won back in last two games, all three taking an hour all together.

After another hour, ten minutes, two bags of chips, and five games, we flopped down on the sofa. I had won, 3-2, and we were collapsed on the sofa by ten past eight.

"I'm whacked out," she moaned, massaging her arms.

I shrugged. "I'm not too bad. I do a lot of sports, so..." I was but of by the phone ringing. I picked up the home phone off the cabinet, and leant against the dark oak cabinet, almost spiking myself against the sharp potted plant.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Will!" my brother chirped.

I exhaled heavily, expecting my clumsy brother to be sitting in A&E using the emergency phone to call us. "Okay, Michael, exactly how injured are you?"  
Michael chuckled. "Nothin' like that, lil' bro."

I folded my arms, accidentally tangled up in the curly phone cord. "When pigs fly."  
"Oh, look, there's a flying pig!" he joked sarcastically. "We're pulling a prank on Travis and his girlfriend."

Connor and Travis Stoll (twins), and Katie Gardener (Travis' girlfriend) are in Lee and Michael's grade, and their adopted little sisters, Julia Feingold and Alice Miyazawa are in my grade, and the entire family is addicted to pranking, but, in Katie's case, being pranked follows her around.

"Are the duo from my year helping?" I asked.

Michael chuckled. "You got that right."

"What are you doing?" I asked.

I normally wouldn't be so nosy, but you have to be careful around the Stoll brothers and the girls. As an example, last week, as I write this, the duo covered the floor and all the bars of our school gymnastics hall in sticky syrup, so I don't and didn't blame myself for being so cautious. Yes, it's been a month and they haven't grown out of it.

"Ballpit prank," my brother yelled suddenly, hanging up.

I slowly put the phone back. "Well..."  
I was cut off by Victoria yelling, "Who's up for icecream?"


	2. So, The Whole Thing Started - Nico

**Thank you clicking on this story!**

 **So, here's a little guide to the text messages:**

 **Nico: DeathAngel**

 **Reyna: PraetorGirl**

 **Bianca: BinnyArrow**

 **Thalia: PineConeFace**

 **Percy: SeaweedBrain**

 **Annabeth: WiseGirl**

 **Jason: SparkingGrace**

 **Piper: BeautyQueen**

 **Frank: ChineseCanadianBabyMan**

 **Hazel: GoldDigger**

 **Leo: RepairBoy**

 **Stay Strong and Enjoy!**

I'm Nico di Angelo, also known as Neeks, Di Angelo, Death Breath, Death Angel, Death Boy, and Sunshine. It's a poor way to start a story on the last month of my life (not the last one I lived, the most recent one, just to clarify), but that's me inside and out: awkward, to-the-point, antisocial, and an introvert.

I'm not sure when 'it' started. Maybe when I realised I was gay, but I'm just going to go with the day of the Skittles incident.

It happened at lunch. I was sitting in my form room -Art 4- when the first strawberry-red skittle hit my head. I'm hindsight, I could've ignored it, but I was in a hacked-off mood that day, so, being an irrational _moron_ , I retaliated.

"Who was that?" I snapped, whipping around.

As of now, I think I reached stupidly. As of _then_ , it seemed perfectly sane and rational, but I can't complain: otherwise I wouldn't have gotten a glimpse of the 'fine piece of art' that was messing around on his phone beside the bathrooms.

Percy was smirking at the back of the classroom, holding a jumbo bag of Skittles.

"Jackson!" I moaned, standing up to organise my books for Creative Writing.

"C'mon, Neeks, embrace your inner rainbow!" he exclaimed, throwing a handful at me.

I jumped up. "Percy, I..."

He chuckled what felt like an entire truckload at me and readied more in his hand. "Embrace your inner rainbow!"

Now the entire form room was staring at me. I scooped up my stuff and scooted out of the door, trying to blend in with the people grabbing things from their lockers and joking around in the hall, but my clothing made me stand out, ironically, I might add, as I was wearing all black. When more Skittles hailed down on my head, I ran. I turned into the second art corridor, falling over when I caught my foot on the carpet. I'm extremely short, so everyone rammed into me, knocking me over with books and hand gestures.

As I ran up the stairs and into English Hall 1, I caught sight of a blonde leaning against the lockers, the screen of his phone reflected in his bright blue eyes.

' _He's hot,'_ I thought, before scolding myself mentally. ' _And he's probably straight anyway.'_

I ran into the toilets, brushing past the guy. He had curly blonde hair that was deep brown at the roots. I sat down on the toilet seat in the cubicle, opening my phone. I selected the 'Siblings Stick Together' chat and tapped out my message.

 **DeathAngel: Percy is a dead man walking**

 **PraetorGirl: Wtf did he do now**

I sighed and recorded a voice message.

 **DeathAngel: Just peer usual Voice Message -**

 **PraetorGirl has left the chat**

A message popped up on the 'Friends to Death' chat. Curious, I swapped over.

 **SeaweedBrain: Nico?**

 **WiseGirl: What did u do now?**

 **SeaweedBrain: How do u type so good?**

 **WiseGirl: I'm smart**

 **PreatorGirl joined the chat**

 **DeathAngel: Explosion in 3, 2, 1...**

 **PreatorGirl: JACKSON!  
GhostBoy: THERE we go**

 **SeaweedBrain: Yes, Reyna?**

 **PreatorGirl: You are a dead Kelp Head walking! Voice Message -**

I unlatched the door and walked out, sitting in the canteen with my stuff as I listened to her message. In even more hindsight, I should've stayed in the bathroom to pick the sweets from my hair, but what can you do?

"Jackson, if you bully my brother again, you'll be in for a whole new world of hurt!"

 **SeaweedBrain: I wasn't bullying him! I'm so sorry Neeks!**

 **DeathAngel: It's Nico, but np. Don't fret**

 **WiseGirl: U idiot, SeaweedBrain!**

 **SeaweedBrain: I'm so sorry**

A mental image of that boy popped up and I typed a question I would regret later.

 **DeathAngel: Who were u talking 2?**

 **SeaweedBrain: Will S. Basketball team captain and 'doctor'**

 **BeautyQueen joined the chat**

 **SparkingGrace joined the chat**

 **BeautyQueen: What did he say?**

 **SparkingGrace: Calm down, Pipes**

I groaned internally, bringing my phone to my ear to hear the incoming voice message. "He said 'take it from me, another gay, that this isn't the best way to go about it,' then we walked off in different directions."

 **BeautyQueen: Neeks, I'm not going to play Cupid after last time. Pairing you up with the first gay we meet is mean**

 **DeathAngel: Thx Pipes. Yeah, last time flopped**

 **SparkingGrace: That is a cute ship tho**

 **DeathAngel: I'm so done!**

 **DeathAngel has left the chat**

I saw a post on Reyna's Instagram of her sitting at the back of the classroom with the shelves of paint in the background. Her shirt was purple and gold, half and half vertically. The caption was 'So much art potential' God, the social media battle was driving me mad. The bell went and I headed off to my creative writing class, where we were writing a children's short story on the prompt 'It's the coldest Christmas Eve in history and a poor family has run out for coal for the furnace. One of the 3 children has 24 hours to get on the naughty list', which I loved. I passed the hot blonde on his way to anatomy, who _did_ inspire one of the three children in my story.

"Percy playing 'Cupid counsellor' never ends well," Hazel pointed out as we walked home. It was a really long walk -45 minutes- but Bianca was at archery with Thalia so she couldn't get us in her car, dad was at work so he couldn't get us in the car, and our bus passes had run out that morning, just our luck.

"No schist," Reyna muttered, her long plat flapping in the wind.

I cracked a grin. "Thalia's parrot has issues, I swear."

Thalia has a parrot named Huntress what had learned to curse and make choking noises. Reyna raised her eyebrows. "No schist again, Neeks."

"I hope Bi and Thals are gettin' on well," Hazel commented. We were half an hour into our walk, meaning they were fifteen minutes into their class.

I smiled devilishly. "I ship it."

The girls jumped. "Nico!"

I grinned nastily. "It's in plain view, guys!"

They opened their mouths to protest but I cut them off. "They kissed in Spin the Bottle at our party. For, like, a whole five seconds."  
They shut up.

When we got home, I raced up to my room to study for my history test and do my homework. After about an hour, I decided to stop studying when I got a text.

 **SparkingGrace: Apparently that Solace guy studied 4 the test 1hr every day in the last 2 weeks and 3hrs on weekends! Repair boy text me**

 **ChineseCanadianBabyMan: That's 2 people in the class that'll get straight As**

 **DeathAngel: A's, sure, i dunno about straight!**

 **SparkingGrace: Nice 1 very funny**

 **DeathAngel: I speak the truth**

 **RepairBoy joined the chat**

 **RepairBoy: OMG guys thx so much!**

 **DeathAngel: ?**

 **RepairBoy: Grace set me up with Calypso and we really hit off!**

 **DeathAngel: WTF!?**

 **RepairBoy: IKR! We're going out again 2morrow**

 **DeathAngel: Calm the fuck down**

 **RepairBoy: So, you've got a secure A?**

 **DeathAngelo: Pretty much**

 **GoldDigger joined the chat**

 **GoldDigger: Nico take your earbuds out I've been knocked on ur door for an hour**

 **DeathAngel: A, it's not an hour, B, HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND YOU'RE KNOCKING ON THE WRONG FUCKING DOOR!**

 **DeathAngel left the chat**

 **GoldDigger left the chat**

Hazel swung open the door, red-faced. "Sorry about that."

I shook my head. "It's no problem. You just made a right Styx-ing fool of yourself."

We headed downstairs to the dining room. Posh setting, as always. I sat down on one of the leather straight-backed, no-armed chairs, putting my fabric on my lap. I reached into the centre of the table, scooping out a huge serving of lasagne onto my plate, dumping it onto my plate. I handed the spoon to Hazel, who _stupidly_ dropped it onto her place from really high in the air, splattering grease on her face.

After a dinner with pleasant small talk (it's habit in our perfectly neat home) we sat down in the living room, relaxing in the chairs and on the couches until dad and Persephone went out to dinner because they hadn't eaten with us.

The second they left, Bi plugged in her FireStick to the TV, and put on 'Inside Out'. I grabbed my phone and started to text on the chat. We made small talk, until I saw Reyna pick up her phone on the other side of the room.

Pretty soon, a picture of Reyna as an eleven-year-old, with a velvety furry, black, long hoodie, with her lips pursed and bright red, her high cheek bones bringing out her eyes and her long dark plait draped over her shoulder surfaced on the chat. The caption was 'Look what Jason sent me...'

My reply was 'My famous social media sister!' with a heart emoji.

Reyna had blown up 'big' on social media a few years back with that very photo. She had every single social media and an account on every popular website. Seriously. Snapchat, Instagram, WhatsApp, Twitter, FaceBook, Tumblr, Pinterest, Reddit, Vine, you name it, she had it. She has a rival two years our junior, Kayla Knowles, who is always posting pictures of her pulling kissy faces. I have accounts on all of them so I can stalk the both of them. I saw Reyna frown when she saw a new post from Kayla. Kayla's in our school, Year 8, but they never spoke at the time. She has no one she shares her surname with, but...

"She has a brother apparently," Reyna smirked, turning on the selfie camera and posting a picture of her pursing her lips and curling her plait around her finger, leaning back in the white leather recliner. Soon, I saw her post. 'Chillin' with my sibs' was the caption. In the comments, she wrote 'Your move, Kayla'.

Their online names were CarrotTop and PraetorGirl, but their real names surfaced as of last year. "God, you're so immature," I muttered.

 **DeathAngel: So, the social media battle progresses!**

 **WiseGirl: *banging my head on the table* Srsly? Ur really immature!**

 **PreatorGirl: No duh! Kayla and I will battle to THE DEATH!**

I clicked off the chat, sighing. "You, Miss, are an immature moron."


	3. Partner Project - Will

**Thank you clicking on this story!**

 **So, here's a little guide to the text messages:**

 **Will: SolaceShine**

 **Lou Ellen: MistGirl**

 **Cecile: CeleryStyx**

 **Calypso: TropicalPunch**

 **Rachel: FortuneTeller**

 **Thanks so much for all the reviews!**

 **Stay Strong and Enjoy!**

History project day! Whoop, whoop! We had the maths test in the morning. I finished it so quickly, I'm pretty sure I got an A, my teacher called out to me to tell me that it was amazing, just from scanning through the text, and... blah, blah, blah, that's not the interesting part. History was second lesson, which is when 'it' properly started.

I sat down next to Cecile, listening to everyone blandly answering to their names, and being the odd one out when I chirped 'Yes, Sir!' as loud as I could. Then, he picked up a sheet of paper and began to read out the names. Again, I _swear_ he puts us into pairs as couples. Percy and Jason, who half the school jokily ship as 'Jercy', Annabeth and Piper (another sarcastic ship known as Pipabeth), Frank and Hazel (they got _extremely_ lucky), Leo and Calypso (again, lucky), Rachel and Reyna (two rival beauty girls from middle school, good job Chiron), and me and Nico, yes, _me and Nico_. I felt the short Italian glaring at the back of my head as I moved to sit next to him, like everyone else.

"Solace," he smirked.

"Di Angelo," I smirked back, handing a school laptop to Nico, as Annabeth passed them down the row.  
"So, we have the entire Tudor period to work with, what do you want to do?" he asked, tapping in his school login.

"I was thinking about Anne Boleyn, she's an interesting subject to study."

He nodded curtly, scribbling something down in his black skull notepad. "Maybe we could do his first three wives. After all, there is the switch between Protestant and Catholic in there, and also the entire search for a son."

I noticed that his voice was much higher than I heard it in lessons normally. It was nicer than the one he put on. Reyna turned around to me and mouthed in surprise 'He only uses that voice with friends and family,' before turning around again. "That's the most I've ever heard you talk. I think that's a great idea."

He smiled at me, a kindly smile. "Well, I'll be talking a lot more. Your sunny personality brings out my chatty side, and it's really hard to fight."

I blushed. Nico di Angelo, being flirty and smitten towards _me_?

"Sorry," he apologised, and my heart sank into my shoes. "I don't know what came over me."

I nodded numbly. "So, you research the religion?"  
"Whatever you want," he replied quietly.

I beamed again, and coaxed a shy smile out of him in response. "So, I'd like to do the religion, but I know you're more interested in it, so you can do it," I told him.

He flushed dramatically, fanning his face sweetly. O... okay. Thanks, I guess," he stuttered.

His sister bounded over. She had smooth black skin and curly dark hair, with a fluffy, curly layer of caramel brown and honey gold over the top. "Hey, Neeks, I'm going back to Frank's house tonight and Reyna's going back to Rachel's, miracles of miracles. _There's_ a shocker for you! What are you doing?"

Nico turned to me, the adorable blush that had been dusting his cheeks now gone. I'm pretty sure my cheeks were just as red. "Solace?"

I smiled broadly again. "Well, my place is a decent walk away - 45 minutes - and inside it's absolute chaos. Your call, Di Angelo."

He twirled his feathery hair around his slim fingers as he thought. "Our house is just about the tidiest place on earth, but if we go to my house, you'll have to get a _very awkward_ ride home from my big sister..." Nico stopped and the two grimaced.

"My house, then?" I questioned.

He nodded, going back to skimming his swift fingers over the keyboard with remarkable speed. I saw Hazel lean over to that Reyna girl, and I saw five dollars shift hands.

"So," Nico muttered, closing his black ring notebook, having filled around ten A5 pages with his notes. "Tonight?"

I nodded twice. "Yeah... I... I mean, if you're okay with it, that is," I blustered.

He smirked devilishly and stared me down with his dark eyes. "I'm not that bad, Solace. I'm introverted, sure, but I won't pass the chance of spending an afternoon in your company."

My stomach turned over, but not in a bad way. "Cool," I grinned.

"So, meet me by my locker?" he suggested.

"Yeah, I'm upstairs in your block, I think," I mused, having got my blush under some sort of control.

"English Hall 1?" he asked.

"Two, close enough," I chuckled. "You?"

"Art Hall 1, outside Art 4. Look for the painting of the twelve Greek gods."

I nodded, smiling.

"What's your address?"I might have to get my sister to pick me up," he explained, chattier than I'd ever seen him.

"7 Archery Lane," I told him.

He opened up another black notebook, this one fabric-bound with '2016' on it in silver. A dairy, duh de jour. He turned to today and wrote down:

3:15: Wait for Solace at my locker to walk to his house - 7 Archery Lane.

The bell rang.

"We better get going. See ya, Di Angelo." I walked out of the room, feeling sick, giddy, and excited for the end of the day.

I headed down the stairs from English Hall 2, everyone streaming down to hall towards the doors at the front of Hall 1, getting my feet trodden on and caught by locker doors. Unfortunately, I had to shove against the flow to get to Art 4. When everyone cleared from the back, I saw a group jostling and joking while they shoved things into their bags. I spotted Nico crouched at one of the bottom lockers, slipping two folders, three workbooks, two textbooks, and a copy of 'Atlas Shrugged' into his black skull backpack. The book fell from the top shelf of his locker as he bent over.

"Ow!" he yelped, putting it into his bag and zipping it shut.

A blonde with blue glasses laughed loudly when he saw this. Nico growled low in his throat. "They should rename that book 'Atlas Shrugged and Almost Knocked Nico Unconscious'."

They all chuckled. "You and your Greek Gods," the Reyna girl smirked. "Even your picture." She pointed to the amazing picture of the 12 Olympians.

I cleared my throat loudly. "Hey, Nico!"

An extremely beautiful young lady looked up from putting things into her butterfly-patterned bag. "Oh, who's this?" she asked innocently, batting her long eyelashes.

Percy laughed. "It's not like we had an entire text conversation about him or anything?"

Nico's face was strawberry red and he put the lock on his locker and hefted on his heavy backpack. "I asked who Percy was talking to," he told me. "That's all. This lot are just melodramatic fools."

Piper laughed daintily. Nico chuckled along with her, his laugh light and high, making me feel happy and carefree.

"Oh," Piper realised. "Is it your sister that's Reyna's rival?"

Reyna, Nico, and Hazel looked at me, surprised. "Really?" they all asked.

I nodded. "Yeah. It's actually half-sister, but... nevermind."

Nico snickered, lifting my heart with the very happy nature of his laugh. "That's surprising. Won't stop a... fuck you, Perce, that hurt a lot..." he shouted as Percy Jackson opened the locker above him to pull out a book he forgot and hit Nico over the head. "Friendship."  
I chuckled. "Friends?" Hazel asked cheekily.

Nico smacked her with his bag. "Hush your mouth, Haze. Maybe the _start_ of a friendship."

I laughed. "C'mon, otherwise we'll have about five minutes."

He chuckled. "Have it your way, Solace. Let's go."

"See you, Nico," they all chirped.

"See ya, guys."

As we headed out, I heard one of them shouting triumphantly. "Reyna, you owe me five bucks!"

I glanced at Nico and he raised his eyebrows.  
We made small talk, finding common ground around our hatred for some of the teachers and students, and telling stories from previous years, until Nico's phone rang.

Now, this is one conversation I will _never_ forget as long as I live, no matter how much Nico begs me. I remember it clearer than any other I've written down so far, and I remember all of _those_ really well.

"Hey, Bi!" he chirped.

There was a few seconds, then he murmured, "Good. You?" in a mundane tone.

His face lit up with that devilish smirk and he snickered, "That's cool, Bi."

He sighed after a long silence. "I'm going to Will Solace's house... History project... No, I don't know when I'll be home... I call you if I need a lift..."

He stopped for a few seconds on the street, a look of horror creeping up his face as he flushed bright red. "BIANCA!" he roared in embarrassment.

I heard a sarcastic apology and his blush dulled, but he looked over to me with apologetic eyes and it flared up again. "You'd better be, Bianca. I only just met him."

Ah, so she had said something embarrassing and awkward about _me_.

"Wait a sec!" he blurted. "You know Rey was really surprised to see that Kayla has a brother?"

I heard a muffled, "No shit, Sherlock," then he replied. "Solace's sister."

"Yeah, I know right?!" he exclaimed, before pinching the bridge of his nose and sighing, "Bye, _la mia amata sorella_."

"Sorry about her," he groaned.

"No problem," I grinned. "Did she say something embarrassing about me?"

He nodded. "Yeah, she's quite the teaser about gays. She means well, though."

"You're gay?" I asked, failing hide the slight surprise in my voice.

He buried his pale face in his sleeves. "I shouldn't have said that," he moaned quietly.

"I am too," I blurted.

The look on his face was worth all the teasing I had ever gone through, every homophobic bully that had told me I was wrong. "Really?" he gasped rather happily.

"Yep!" I grinned, starting to bounce my walk a little.

He reached his hand forward, to me, yanking me back by the sleeve. "You're too fast!"

I smirked. "Sure, I'll slow down."

He gave me a shy smile in response, which just about made my gut shiver. "What's your lot like?" he asked.

I smiled dreamily into the distance. "Kayla's the social media beauty queen. She's the carrot top with the green hair, but you already know that."

He nodded. "She won't hate me, will she? Y'know, because of Reyna?"

I shrugged. "Probably not."

"Not that I care," he hissed suddenly, his muscles tensing and his teeth clenching. I felt him closing up.

I grinned wildly. "You've already opened up to me, Nico, and there's no going back!"

"Hardly," he replied. "You've barely scratched the surface, Solace. But I wouldn't mind staying open for someone like you." He winked flirtatiously.

We both put tomatoes to shame, until he started talking about his friend's sister parrot. "Jason's sister, Thalia, has this parrot called Huntress. It learnt to cuss and make choking noises."

I laughed extremely loudly. "The heck?"

He smirked, until we both got a notification. It was a post from Kayla. It was her in her bright green gym leotard balancing on her elbows with her legs in the air, facing the camera. 'C'mon, Rey, Beat This!'

We both groaned. "The immature morons!" we exclaimed together, before laughing.

"Oh," he started suddenly. "What's your number?"

I rattled it off to him and he sent me a message.

 **DeathAngel: Hey, Sunshine!**

 **SolaceShine: Hey, Death Boy!**

We made small talk for another half an hour or so (a road was closed and we had to take an itty-bitty detour through the park where Nico got attacked by a bulldog) until we reached my house.

"Why didn't we walk with your siblings?" he asked.

"Kayla's at the Gym & Dance competition, I'll show you the video I took when she did it last week, Austin got the bus home with Kayla's mate Austin, because Austin's bus thingy ran out, and Michael and Lee have footie," I listed, immediately worried he had lost interest and thought I was a jabbering idiot."

Instead, he was acting like a hyper child. "I'd love to see that video!" he exclaimed.

I beamed. "Really?"

He nodded happily. When I opened the door, I was met with 'Little Miss Traffic Light' calling for Austin. "Meg!" I called. "How are you?"

She hugged me eagerly. "Sunny!"

I grinned, hugging her back a little. "Nico, this is Meg. Meg, this is Nico. Meg, Nico, Nico, Meg!" I introduced.

Meg giggled shyly. "H... hey, Nico."

"Greetin's Meg!" he smiled.

She giggled again. "C'mon, Nico, let's go up to my room."  
When we got up to my room, I took his bag and hung it up on one of the hooks on the wall. He took off his shoes and left them underneath his bag.

"So," he started. "Your room is just as neat as mine."

"It helps me concentrate and I like knowing where stuff is."

"Compared to the rest of the craziness in your house, it doesn't seem a bad thing."

He opened his bag and got out his notebook and a sleek black HP laptop in a spongy case. "So, shall we get started on the document?"

I smiled, opening my video editing programme while he brought up a page of information. "Let's go."

Nico looked up after all our small talk, and murmured, "What's the time?" before looking at his Fit Bit. Five past five.

"Are you staying for dinner?" I asked eagerly.

He shrugged. "I'll ask my siblings."  
We'd be working for half an hour and I'd edited together part of a video with factual captions. I was on my drawing tablet, putting together pictures of the first three wives of Henry VIII from the internet, writing the names underneath it. I sent it over to my computer, editing it into the video. Nico's head jerked upright.

"No one in my family's eating at home, so I guess I am."

My face positively lit up. "Great!"  
He raised his eyebrows. "Uh-huh!" he coughed, a smile on his face.

Kayla burst into my room. "Will!" she exclaimed, before she saw Nico, hunched over in the armchair. "Oh... hey..."

"Nico," Meg completed.

Nico looked up. "Will, I sent over the religion facts for you to read out when we show it. Oh, and you spelt 'Seymour' wrong."

He saw the girls quivering in the doorway. "Why is everyone scared of me?" he frowned, tapping away on his sleek black laptop.

"Why is Meg dressed like a traffic light?" I retorted. "You just _are_!"

He snorted. "Really?"

I smiled. "Well, _I_ don't find you scary, but I see to be a one-off, alongside your little friendship group!"

He did that flirty wink again, and my stomach flipped. "Well, I think you _will_ be a special case."

Kayla chuckled. "Who's cookin', Sunny?"

I smiled, though my cheeks were heating up again. "I think it's Lee."

"Cool!" she exclaimed. "See ya!"

Nico did that wicked smirk again that gave me a strange feeling. "So, Sunshine, lets carry on."

After another hour, I was around five minutes into the video and Nico had written up five-pages of the required essay.  
We headed down into the kitchen, where Lee was carrying eggs across the kitchen from the shopping bag. I grinned wickedly, looking dangerously like Nico. "Drop the bass."

Lee's eyes widened and he _dropped the eggs on the floor_. "You've gone too far this time, Sunny-Will."

Nico stared at the sticky egg white pooling around my brother's shoes. "What?"

I grinned even wider. "It's a joke in our family that started between dad and... I think it was Michael and Lee's mum... yeah, if you'll remember, the only ones in the family that share parents are Lee and Michael..."  
"You can explain that one later," he butted in.

"So," I continued. "It's a family joke that whenever you say 'drop the bass' they drop what their holding. The top three worst ones are a cup of tea, netballs in matches, and..."  
"That," Nico completed.

I nodded and we sat down at the table after we cleared all the clutter away. Lee shoved the wraps on the table and we all dug in.

"So," Victoria started. "Care to introduce us to your new boyfriend?"

I banged my head on the table lightly. "Vick-eee!"

She laughed, while Nico just smiled at me softly. "He's not my boyfriend," he whispered quietly, shy around the amount of people.

Victoria instantly melted at his sweet voice, and I can't deny that I wasn't doing it too. Of course, nowadays, I do it every day, despite everything that happened. "So, who are you?"  
"Nico di Angelo," he murmured. "We're doing a history partner project together."

She nodded, noting the softness in my eyes and the fond smile on my face. She cocked a brow and I blushed. Now I look back, I realise how stupidly _obvious_ I was being.

"I'm Victoria, Will's twin," she introduced.

Nico nodded. "Cool."

"I'm Austin, their half-brother."

He turned to me. "You need to explain this."

I nodded. "I'll do it after."

"I'm Lee..."

"And I'm Michael."

"We're twins," they said together.

Nico rolled his eyes. "I know about Kayla. You're my sister's rival. Meg too."

They nodded together. Kayla held out a hand across the table. "You think I'll hate you, don't you? It's just a silly rivalry, you know."

He shook with her, sealing a _truce_.

I turned to him. "I'll explain."

He rolled his eyes again. "Please do."

"So, first of all, my dad, who's gone back out, by the way, went out with Lee and Michael's mum in 1998, and... speaks for itself. Next, Austin was born in December in 2001, and then Vicky and I were born in the summer of 2002, with completely different parents, mind you. Kayla was born 2 years later."

Nico nodded slowly. "I've got it. Thanks."

Austin smirked. "First person ever to get it."

I sighed. "Wow."

We ate while we made small talk, as I had done with Nico for most of the afternoon. Then, his phone rang, while we were eating arctic roll. "Sorry," he apologised, pulling it out and answering the call.

"Hey, Bi," he chirped, suddenly animated. He was almost as sweetly animated and excited when he was when he was alone with me.

He almost hit his head on the table with shock. "She did _what_?"

"Okay, let me get this straight: Rachel is Octavian's adopted sister and he did _what_?"

"He... he _threw a garden chair at her_? What the _fuck_ was he thinking?"

Nico continued to exclaim exasperatedly into the phone, using vulgar language that made Kayla cover her ears.

"Bloody hell," he murmured when he ended the call. "Do you guys know Octavian?"

I winced. "Yeah. He's my dad's son."

"What?" he exclaimed.

"Behold, the bloody-confusing family tree!" Kayla exclaimed.

"Language!" we all exclaimed.

Nico raised an eyebrow. "Family tree?"

I sighed. "So, my dad had Octavian in 1999 with Octavian's mum, then he was adopted by Rachel's family, Michael and Lee in 2000, Austin in 2001 with Austin's mum, me and Victoria in 2002, and Kayla in 2004."

Nico shook his head, and Bianca called again. "Hey, Bi!" he chirped, predictably.

"Okay, cool!" he smiled. While listening, he mouthed 'Sorry, I gotta go see Reyna,' at me. I smiled. "I get it."

"Address? Will'll correct me if I get this wrong, but... 7 Archery Lane."

I nodded. "Okay, see you in fifteen."

He sighed, closing the call. "Allow me to fill you in."  
"He _threw a garden chair at Reyna_?!" I exclaimed, shocked.

I pulled out my phone, tapping out a message.

 **SolaceShine: Rachel, wt af did Octavian do?**

 **FortuneTeller: Gods don't get me started**

 **CeleryStyx: What did he do?**

 **MistGirl: Dear Gods, does it include anything...**

 **FortuneTeller: WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK, LOU?! No, he didn't fuck Reyna!**

 **MistGirl: Reyna?**

 **Fortune Teller: So, this happened... Voice Message -**

I raised it to my face eagerly. "Nico, listen to this!" He leant over.

"So, Reyna was 'round my place, doing our history project, when we went out in the garden because I sketch better out there and we're doing a poster. She said something about Luke Castellan breaking Annabeth's heart, apparently, and Luke and Octavian are best friends. He got _very_ worked up, then Reyna said a few more things, and Ocky threw a garden chair at her."  
"The hell?" we both exclaimed.

After a little while of us talking about our family relations, the doorbell rang. Nico and I ran to the door.  
The girl at the door looked just like Nico. She had a thick black plait, extremely dark green eyes, a white dress with green butterflies, brown boots, a green cardigan, and a beige bag. "Neeks!" she exclaimed, crushing him in a hug.

Nico chuckled awkwardly. "Bi, you're embarrassing me!" he moaned.

I chuckled. "C'mon, Nico, your sister ain't that bad."

He cocked an eyebrow. "Well, that's what _you_ think, Sunshine!"

I laughed even harder. "Sunshine?"

"Your siblings call you Sunny," he replied, as if that explained it all.

Him calling me a nickname that I held close to my heart was shocking but... nice.

"Well, where are we next going to work on this project?" I asked. "We said the video would be ten minutes long."

He nodded curtly. "I'd better get going; I need to see Reyna. What about my house on Friday?"

I nodded back. "It's a date."

He blushed. "Not literally!" I added quickly as they rushed away.

He laughed. "I get it, Sunshine! See you tomorrow!"


	4. Partner Project - Nico

**Thank you clicking on this story!**

 **So, here's a little guide to the text messages:**

 **Nico: DeathAngel**

 **Reyna: Praetor Girl**

 **Bianca: BinnyArrow**

 **Thalia: PineConeFace**

 **Percy: SeaweedBrain**

 **Annabeth: WiseGirl**

 **Jason: SparkingGrace**

 **Piper: BeautyQueen**

 **Frank: ChineseCanadianBabyMan**

 **Hazel: GoldDigger**

 **Leo: RepairBoy**

 **A teeny weeny itsy bitsy disclaimer: I have zilch idea if they have Sixth Form in America. Just go with it!**

 **Stay Strong and Enjoy!**

I wasn't excited for the history project. Everyone thinks I can wangle any partner I want, because of that _one_ time with a sub with my innocent puppy-eyes and convincing limp that only works when someone's meeting me for the first time. Seriously, I can't. I can't. I just _can't_.

When we got into the classroom, it started like any normal lesson. Solace, who I now (embarrassingly) recognised as the hot guy from the previous day. Then, Chiron picked out names. Piper and Annabeth (those lucky best friends), Jason and Percy (a _very_ awkward sarcastic pairing), Frank and my 'sister' Hazel (those lucky lovers), Leo and Calypso (did Chiron know about their blind date?), and me and Will. _Me and Will_.

He came and sat beside me. I gave him my death glare. Unlike Percy on first sight, I decided that I _hated_ Will at all costs, and I didn't want my 'cute on first sight' charm to work on him. He passed a laptop along to me and our hands brushed. I felt skeletal butterflies resurrect in my stomach.

"So, we have the entire Tudor period to work with, what do you want to do?" I asked pleasantly. I cursed myself for not keeping my voice deep and dark as I did when I was around anyone but my friends and family. Instead, it came out cheery, high and fluty, just as he had heard me talking to Percy yesterday. Also, back then, I didn't care about anyone, so I was beyond surprised to hear those words spilling out of my mouth. Nowadays, simple care from others slips from between my lips many times a day. I'm not surprised, given all that's happened.

"I was thinking about Anne Boleyn," he suggested. "She's an interesting subject to study."

I nodded politely, not trusting myself to speak in front of the chatty, hot teen. I flipped open my fabric notepad, with white skulls sewn into it. I scribbled down some notes in English, as well as a side-not in Italian, reading 'I'm so glad he said Anne Boleyn, it's my favourite history period. And he's hot.' After I had composed myself by writing several more English notes, I made a suggestion myself. "Maybe we could do his first three wives. After all, there is the switch between Protestant and Catholic in there, and also the entire search for a son."

Oh, yeah, that was a _really_ good explanation on my behalf. Solace _still_ looked eager. "That's the most I've ever heard you talk." He chirped. "I think that's a great idea."

Okay, this was a _great_ time for my flirty personality to burst through. I gave a kindly smile, and announced, "Well, I'll be talking a lot more. Your sunny personality brings out my chatty side, and it's really hard to fight."

I blushed. Why was I, Nico di Angelo, being flirty and smitten towards _Will_?

"Sorry," I apologised, not wanting to apologise for flirting with the hot boy. "I don't know what came over me."

His movements were robot-like when he asked, "So, you research the religion?"

"Whatever you want," I whispered. I was happy to speak in my normal voice in front of Solace, instead of dipping it down a few octaves. Instead, I decided to keep quiet so all my emotions wouldn't burst out at once.

He beamed again, and I only responded with a small, shy smile. "So," he started, and I braced myself for the oncoming onslaught of insults. "I'd like to do the religion, but I know you're more interested in it, so you can do it."

My face burned up more than it ever has before. I've blushed harder since, but that's beside the point. I started fanning my face, something that Hazel did whenever she was embarrassed or shocked. "O... okay. That's, I guess."

Hazel ran over. "Hey, Neeks, I'm going back to Frank's house tonight and Reyna's going back to Rachel's, miracles of miracles. _There's_ a shocker for you! What are you doing?"

I turned to him, the blush on my cheeks had died down, but it seemed to have transferred to his face. "Solace?"

"Well, my place is is a decent walk away - 45 minutes - and inside it's absolute chaos. Your call, Di Angelo." He smiled broadly.

I twirled my hair, thinking I must look really silly. "Our house is just about the tidiest place on earth, but if we go to my house, you'll have to get a _very awkward_ ride home from my big sister..." Hazel and I grimaced at the thought of all the awkward boyfriend questions we would get.

"My house, then?"

I went back to my speedy typing. I heard a shuffling of money, but didn't think too much of it. Later, I leaned that they had betted that I would like Will as a friend in the first few minutes, and that I would speak in my real high-pitched fluty voice to him.

"So, tonight?" I asked, closing my notebook.

"Yeah... I... I mean, if you're okay with it, that is," he flustered.

I tried my devil smirk on him, and I saw a look I had never seen before in anyone's eyes. "I'm not that bad, Solace. I'm introverted, sure, but I won't pass the chance of spending an afternoon in your company."

' _Stop. Flirting.'_ I ordered myself. ' _He's probably straight. He probably has a girlfriend. He probably thinks I'm weird.'_

Nowadays, I can safely say 'wrong, wrong, wrong, and wrong!'

"Cool."

"So, meet me by my locker?" I suggested, before realising that he didn't know where it was.

"Yeah, I'm upstairs in your block, I think," he replied, touching his cheeks as his blush died down.

"English Hall 1?" I asked, before realising he was English Hall 2.

"Two, close enough," he chuckled. "You?"

"Art Hall 1, outside Art 4. Look for the painting of the twelve Greek gods."

"What's your address?"I might have to get my sister to pick me up," I asked, before smacking meslf for being so chatty.

"7 Archery Lane,"

I opened up my diary and wrote down:

3:15: Wait for Solace at my locker to walk to his house - 7 Archery Lane.

The bell rang.

"We better get going. See ya, Di Angelo."

I was at my locker worrying about going to Will's house, when Jason bustled out of the form room, unlocking his number lock. He had been arm wrestling with Cole Manners. I was shoving _all_ my blithering stuff into my bag, when 'Atlas Shrugged' fell onto my head.

"Ow!" I yelped, as I put in into my bag.

Jason laughed at me. "They should rename that book 'Atlas Shrugged and Almost Knocked Nico Unconscious'."

Everyone laughed at me. "You and your Greek Gods. Even your picture." Reyna pointed to my 12 Olympians picture on the wall. It wasn't that good at the time, I thought, but nowadays, courtesy of Will, I can see how good it really is.

I heard someone clearing their throat, and I turned around. "Hey, Nico!"

"Oh, who's this?" Piper asked with her stupid innocent face on.

Percy laughed. "It's not like we had an entire text conversation about him or anything?"

I blushed. "I asked who Percy was talking to," I told Will desperately. "That's all. This lot are just melodramatic fools."

I laughed, before realising that I had been talking in my high-pitched voice again. Ah well, too late to take it back now. May as well take him as a friend.

"Oh," Piper realised. "Is it your sister that's Reyna's rival?"

Well, hello surprise my old friend! Solace's sister, huh? "What?" we all exclaimed.

"Yeah. It's actually half-sister, but... nevermind."

I laughed again. Fucking laugh. "That's surprising. Won't stop a... fuck you, Perce, that hurt a lot..." Percy swung open his locker to grab a forgotten book. His locker door, which is _above_ mine, hit me hard in the head. "Friendship."  
Will chuckled. "Friends?" Hazel asked cheekily.

I hit her with my bag. "Hush your mouth, Haze. Maybe the _start_ of a friendship."

"C'mon, otherwise we'll have about five minutes." I turned to see Will Solace grinning like a maniac.

"Have it your way, Solace. Let's go."

"See you, Nico," The guys chirped.

"See ya, guys."

I groaned when I heard Jason yelling at the top of his lungs. I looked at Will and raised an eyebrow.

We found our common ground, which turned out to be hatred for teachers and some of the students, and a lack of understanding for our sisters beauty obsessions, Kayla and Reyna respectively. Then my phone rang. Yay.

"Hey, Bi!" I said, my voice staying in its normal high-pitched form.

"Hey, Neeks, how are you?" she called from the other end.

"Good," I droned. "You?"

"Oh, I'm great, _Soldatino_! Thalia's telling loads of great jokes. She is just the funniest!"

I couldn't help but think of the two of them kissing in Spin the Bottle. I put on my devil smirk again. "That's cool, Bi."

"So, where are you? Hazel told me you're going to someone's house. Like she and Reyna are. What is it for? When will you be home? Do you need a lift?"

Over. Protective. Older. Sisters. "I'm going to Will Solace's house... History project... No, I don't know when I'll be home... I call you if I need a lift..."

Are you sure it's not science and you want to examine his hot body?" she asked cheekily.

The bright red blush was creeping up my face and my heart was thudding. I stopped. "BIANCA!"

"Yeah, sure you're embarrassed. I'm so-oo so-rry!" she smirked.

I looked to Will with apologetic eyes, but I just blushed again. "You'd better be, Bianca. I only just met him."

Realisation crept up Will's face. Crap. "So, is that all?"

"Wait a sec! You know Rey was really surprised to see that Kayla has a brother?"

"No shit, Sherlock."

"Solace's sister."

"What the fuck?! Really?"

"Yeah, I know right?!"

"I gotta go. We're here. Bye, _Soldatino_!"

"Bye, _la mia amata sorella_ ," I sighed. "Sorry about her."

"No problem. Did she say something embarrassing about me?"

"Yeah, she's quite the teaser about gays. She means well, though."

"You're gay?" he asked, sounding surprised and, as I thought, disgusted.

Ashamed, I buried my face in my hoodie sleeves. I didn't want to lose this new friend so soon. Disgusting him with my sexuality wasn't the best way to get closer to him. "I shouldn't have said that."

"I am too." Hearing this made me wickedly excited.

"Really?" Maybe I had a chance with him! What was I thinking? Now, I can say that my feeling was true love.

"Yep!"

My hand went forward out of its own accord, and grabbed him by the arm. "You're too fast!"

"Sure, I'll slow down."

I flashed my smallest smile. "What's your lot like?"

"Kayla's the social media beauty queen. She's the carrot top with the green hair, but you already know that."

"She won't hate me, will she? Y'know, because of Reyna?"

He shrugged. "Probably not."

It hit me. Why was I being so... open? And caring? I tensed all my muscles and clenched my teeth. "Not that I care." I was closed up again.

"You've already opened up to me, Nico, and there's no going back!" So. Annoyingly. Happy.

"Hardly. You've barely scratched the surface, Solace. But I wouldn't mind staying open for someone like you." I winked flirtatiously. Why. The. Fuck. Am. I. So. Flirty!

We both blushed, until brought up Huntress. Will's only reply was a laugh, which made skeletal butterflies resurrect inside my stomach. Then, our phones went. A post. From Kayla. Challenging my sister.

"Oh, What's your number?"

Will rattled it off to me and I sent him a message.

 **DeathAngel: Hey, Sunshine!**

 **SolaceShine: Hey, Death Boy!**

We made small talk about our siblings and school, until Will groaned. "Dammit, the road's closed."  
"So?" I asked.

"We take a detour through the park. Y'know, it's huge!"  
I nodded. It was the length of about five roads and huge! It had a building with a play-place and a swimming pool, with a football pitch and cricket pitch, just to name a few.

"So?" Will asked. "You come here ever?"

"Sometimes. I used to come with Thalia and things like that."

"Cool."

We walked through the park until I pointed out the swings in the park for older children. We jumped on and swung standing up for a second or two, until a fifty-pound bulldog bounded up to me and slammed into my chest, knocking me to the ground. "Oof!" I gasped, winded.

"Sorry!" a man shouted, pulling on the leash. "No! Bad dog! Bad!"

"Quintus!" I exclaimed. He was an old family friend of my father; he had worked for my dad a few years ago. "How are you?!"  
"Nico!" he exclaimed. "Wow, how old are you now?"

"Fourteen, Sir," I replied, accepting Will's hand. "This is Will Solace. We're doing a school history project together."

"How is... everything? After what happened?"

I scuffed my shoe. Will spoke up. "Nico, if you want to talk, I'll walk away. You said you only open up to certain people, so..." he began to walk away. I snatched him by the collar. "Stay," I ordered.

"We're doing fine. We visit her grave every Saturday," I sighed, turning to Will. "My mother."

"What about school?" he asked.

I shrugged. "Good. My friends are Percy, Annabeth, Jason, Piper, Frank, my 'sister' Hazel, Leo, and my 'sister' Reyna. And Solace."

"Nice. How's Cerberus?" he asked.

"He was at grandad's the other day, but we've got him back now. Far, as fine as I know from this morning."

"I've got to get back home. It was nice to see you."

I shook his hand. "You too."

Will was petting Mrs. O'Leary. "I'm sorry to hear about your mum," he said as we left the park.

I shook my head. "It was four years ago. I'm fine. He's just... a little too blunt."

Will nodded, and he squeezed my shoulder. "You can tell me if you're not okay, alright?"

I nodded. "Will do."

"Why didn't we walk with your siblings?" I asked.

"Kayla's at the Gym & Dance competition, I'll show you the video I took when she did it last week, Austin got the bus home with Kayla's mate Austin, because Austin's bus thingy ran out, and Michael and Lee have footie," he told me.

Oh, the gym and dance! Hazel's performance was the next day. I'm writing after the comeptiotion, so I can safely say that it was amazing.

"I'd love to see that video!"

"Really?" he asked.

I nodded. When Will opened the door, I saw a girl dressed in bright green tights, yellow shorts, red trainers, a red t-shirt, and a bright yellow undershirt. Who the fuck dressed her up like a traffic light? "Meg! How are you?" Will asked.

She hugged Will. "Sunny!"

"Nico, this is Meg. Meg, this is Nico. Meg, Nico, Nico, Meg!" he introduced.

Meg giggled shyly. "H... hey, Nico."

"Greetin's Meg!" I smiled flirtatiously. Why. Am. I. Such. A. Flirter?

She giggled again. "C'mon, Nico, let's go up to my room," Will said.

I was amazed by how neat his room was! And I still am.

"So," I started. "Your room is just as neat as mine."

"It helps me concentrate and I like knowing where stuff is."

"Compared to the rest of the craziness in your house, it doesn't seem a bad thing."

"So, shall we get started on the document?" I got out my laptop.

He opened an editing programme while I opened up Chrome and a Word document to type up the required essay. "Let's go."

"Are you staying for dinner?" he asked.

"I'll ask my siblings."  
We'd be working for half an hour and Will had edited together part of a video with factual captions. I had put on a reel of facts that would roll around Star Wars-style, all about the religion change. I had made other one where a newspaper typed up the facts on the black-and-white paper in front of your eyes. It was awesome, because it wrote itself before your eyes.

 **DeathAngel: Hey, anyone eating at home?**

 **BinnyArrow: I'm eating at Thalia's . Sorry, Soldatino!**

 **DeathAngel: Np,** **la mia amata sorella. Anyone else?**

 **PraetorGirl: Sry, I'm staying at Rachel's. Having a good time?**

 **DeathAngel: Yeah, great, actually**

 **GoldDigger: Sorry, I'm staying at Frank's. Sorry Neeks**

 **DeathAngel: Np guess Im eating here**

"No one in my family's eating at home, so I guess I am."

"Great!" His face positively lit up.

"Uh-huh!" I coughed.

Kayla burst in. I recognised her by her ginger and bright red hair, but she looked more real than the countless times I had seen her on my screen. "Will!" she exclaimed, before she saw me. "Oh... hey..."

Meg completed her sentence. "Nico."

I tried to ignore the girls. "Will, I sent over the religion facts for you to read out when we show it. Oh, and you spelt 'Seymour' wrong."

"Why is everyone scared of me?" I frowned, looking up, before continuing typing.

"Why is Meg dressed like a traffic light?" Will butted in. "You just _are_!"

"Really?"

Will grinned, and my stomach tickled. "Well, _I_ don't find you scary, but I see to be a one-off, alongside your little friendship group!"

I tried for my flirty wink, but Will's reaction looked like literal pain, so I gathered that it didn't work. "Well, I think you _will_ be a special case."

Kayla chuckled. "Who's cookin', Sunny?"

Nowadays, I hear that nickname every day, and it rolls off my tongue every day, but, back then, it was music to my ears, describing Will to a T. "I think it's Lee."

"Cool!" she exclaimed. "See ya!"

I tried my wicked smirk, which seemed to take some sort of effect. "So, Sunshine, lets carry on."

I had written five out of the ten pages required in the essay and Will was five minutes into the video. We went down to the kitchen, to see what his brother was doing. Right now, as I type, I'm screaming 'half-brother!' at myself, but...

Lee was carrying eggs across the kitchen, a shopping bag on the table. He was almost at the fridge when Will did a wicked grin, just like mine. "Drop the bass."

Wondering what happened? He _dropped the fucking eggs_. By this time, I was thinking, ' _What the actual frick-frack diddly dack!?'_ but it made perfect sense to them.

"You've gone too far this time, Sunny-Will." he growled.

I was staring at the boy's shoes, where the sticky _stuff_ was pooling. "What?" I managed, confused.

"It's a joke in our family that started between dad and... I think it was Michael and Lee's mum... yeah, if you'll remember, the only ones in the family that share parents are Lee and Michael..."  
"You can explain that one later," I interjected, my brain too tired to hear that.

"So, It's a family joke that whenever you say 'drop the bass' they drop what their holding. The top three worst ones are a cup of tea, netballs in matches, and..."  
"That."

Lee stepped out of the mess, leaving his shoes in it. He called out to the others and shoves the tortilla wraps on the table.

"So," the girl with caramel-blonde hair started. "Care to introduce us to your new boyfriend?"

I groaned under my breath and Will banged his head on the table."Vick-eee!"

She laughed. Idiot. "He's not my boyfriend," I whispered, my social anxiety kicking in around the amount of people I didn't know.

I saw a look in Will's eyes, and it was unfamiliar. "So, who are you?"  
"Nico di Angelo. We're doing a history partner project together." I couldn't help but think of what Bi had said earlier. The little idiot.

I noticed a look on Will's face, again, it was unfamiliar. Now I look back, I can see exactly what it was.

"I'm Victoria, Will's twin," she introduced.

"Cool," I nodded.

"I'm Austin, their half-brother."

"You need to explain this," I ordered.

"I'll do it after."

"I'm Lee..."

"And I'm Michael."

"We're twins," they said together.

"I know about Kayla. You're my sister's rival. Meg too."

They nodded together. Kayla held out a hand across the table. "You think I'll hate you, don't you? It's just a silly rivalry, you know."

I shook with her, sealing a _truce_.

"I'll explain," Will said.

"Please do."

"So, first of all, my dad, who's gone back out, by the way, went out with Lee and Michael's mum in 1998, and... speaks for itself. Next, Austin was born in December in 2001, and then Vicky and I were born in the summer of 2002, with completely different parents, mind you. Kayla was born 2 years later."

I processed all this information. "I've got it. Thanks."

Austin smirked. "First person ever to get it."

"Wow."

We made small talk as we ate (So. Much. Small. Talk) until my phone rang.

"Hey, Bi," I chirped, my voice unchanged. I had been speaking in my normal voice the _whole time_. What the fuck was wrong with me?

"Hey, _Soldatino_ ," she replied. "No time for chit-chat. Rey broke her arm.

I jerked with shock, forgot the table was there, and came _excruciatingly_ close to hitting my head. "She did _what_?"

"Octavian threw a garden chair at her. Y'know, Rachel's adopted brother? The one two years older?"

"Okay, let me get this straight: Rachel is Octavian's adopted sister and he did _what_?"

"Threw a metal-armed garden chair at her."

"He... he _threw a garden chair at her_? What the _fuck_ was he thinking?"

I noticed Kayla cover her ears as I exclaimed into the phone.

"Bloody hell," I muttered as I clicked off. "Do you guys know Octavian?"

Will always insists I say 'bloody hell' a lot, but I don't! Either that, or it's so natural I don't remember saying it.

"Yeah. He's my dad's son," Will sighed.

"What?"

"Behold, the bloody-confusing family tree!" Kayla exclaimed.

"Language!" the family exclaimed.

"Family tree?"

Will sighed. "So, my dad had Octavian in 1999 with Octavian's mum, then he was adopted by Rachel's family, Michael and Lee in 2000, Austin in 2001 with Austin's mum, me and Victoria in 2002, and Kayla in 2004."

Bianca called again. "Hey, Bi!" I chirped. Again.

"We gotta go see Rey. Sorry for the short notice. I'll pick you up in fifteen?"

"Okay, cool!" I mouthed, 'Sorry, I gotta go see Reyna,' at Will while I listened.

"I get it," he grinned.

"Nico!" she shouted, and I jumped. "I've asked abut five times! What's his address?"

I had been staring into Will's bright blue eyes, getting lost in them.

"Address? Will'll correct me if I get this wrong, but... 7 Archery Lane."

"Okay, I'm just going to phone Hazel."

He nodded, telling me I had it right. "Okay, see you in fifteen."

"Allow me to fill you in," I sighed as I closed my fist on the call.

"He _threw a garden chair at Reyna_?!" Will exclaimed.

He pulled out his phone, spending a minute texting, before he looked back up. "Nico, listen to this!" he cried, holding out the phone.

"So, Reyna was 'round my place, doing our history project, when we went out in the garden because I sketch better out there and we're doing a poster. She said something about Luke Castellan breaking Annabeth's heart, apparently, and Luke and Octavian are best friends. He got _very_ worked up, then Reyna said a few more things, and Ocky threw a garden chair at her."  
"The hell?" we both exclaimed.

We spent a little while talking about our confusing family relations, me talking a little about Quintus. Then, Bianca rang the bell. We ran to answer it. When we saw who it was, Will spent a few seconds taking in her old-timey appearance.

"Neeks!" she exclaimed, grabbing me and knocking the air from my lungs as she hugged me.

"Bi, you're embarrassing me!" I chuckled, embarrassed.

Will snickered. "C'mon, Nico, your sister ain't that bad."

"Well, that's what _you_ think, Sunshine!" I retorted.

And... hey, presto, Will was in stitches! "Sunshine?"

"Your siblings call you Sunny," I replied, hoping it was explanation enough.

He contemplated this for a few seconds before speaking up. "Well, where are we next going to work on this project?" he asked. "We said the video would be ten minutes long."

I gave a curt nod. "I'd better get going; I need to see Reyna. What about my house on Friday?"

"It's a date."

I flushed, thinking of my thoughts from earlier.

"Not literally!" he blurted as we clambered into the car.

I gave a chirpy laugh. "I get it, Sunshine! See you tomorrow!"

"So," Bianca asked. "That's Will?"  
"Yeah. How was your day? Being in Sophomore and all."  
"Eh," she replied. "Alright, I guess. Being with Thalia was great, though! She tells the best jokes!"

I shook my head, chuckling. ' _They're so oblivious,'_ I thought.

Right back at me, I guess, looking back. I mean, hello?! Will Solace, the giant elephant, or, rather, smile in the room.

"Does she, now?" I smirked. "That lot are related to Octavian."

"What the hell?" Bi asked.

"Oh, he's their half-brother, but the mother took charge of him and put him up for adoption, where RED's family took him in."

"But..."

I recounted Will's family tree to her. "It's really complicated," I finished.

She nodded slowly. "Ah, okay."

"So, how's Thalia?" I ventured.

"She's good," Bi replied. "One of the boys was flirting with her while we walked to the Hunter camp and she slapped him and said 'I'm lesbian'. It was hi-larious!"

I chuckled. "Wow. Artemis is crazy with her no-boy rules."

"It's Lady Artemis," she corrected, reaching over to bop my nose.

"Eyes on the road," I sighed, pushing her away.

When we got to the hospital, we saw Reyna, laying in recovery. "Hey, Rey," I grinned. "So, how was your time with RED?"

 **Translations:**

 **Soldatino: Soldier**

 **La mia amata sorella: My lovely sister**

 **RED stands for Rachel Elizabeth Dare. Anyway, thanks for reading this remix of the dictionary and goodbye!**


	5. Luke Castellan - Will

**Thank you clicking on this story!**

 **So, here's a little guide to the text messages:**

 **Will: SolaceShine**

 **Lou Ellen: MistGirl**

 **Cecile: CeleryStyx**

 **Calypso: TropicalPunch**

 **Rachel: FortuneTeller**

 **Stay Strong and Enjoy!**

When my alarm woke me up, I immediately remembered everything from yesterday. More importantly, Nico di Angelo. I pulled on some new jeans, and a bright green hoodie, after opening the window and almost being frostbitten instantly. I pulled on my green converse and headed down for breakfast. I ate some cornflakes while chatting to Kayla about the Gym & Dance, until the clock hit seven. I jumped onto the bus, sitting down and waiting for three stops until Cecile got on. "Hey, Sunny-Boy."

I raised a hand in greeting. He flopped down beside me. "Upside of taking the public bus: we can chat without idiots spreading rumours."

With that, we pulled out our phones.

 **FortuneTeller: OMG i feel so guilty**

 **CeleryStyx: Dont worry reyna isn't mad**

 **SolaceShine: Nico said she's not the type to get pissed for something like that don't worry!**

 **FortuneTeller: Oh yeah?**

 **TropicalPunch: So...**

 **SolaceShine: Fuck**

 **FortuneTeller: Vm now!**

I sighed and made a voice message about what had happened, leaving out the embarrassing part by saying 'awkward, awkward, awkward...', but, other than that, I include most of it.

 **MistGirl: OMG he called you Sunshine!**

 **SolaceShine: Ik. He picked it up**

 **MistGirl: Cute lil' emo**

 **SolaceShine: He will have your head**

 **FortuneTeller: Will he now?**

 **CeleryStyx: Psssh... Will**

 **SolaceShine: It's not my fault my name doubles up as a determiner**

 **TropicalPunch: Whats the awkward awkward awkward bit**

 **SolaceShine: ...**

 **SolaceShine has left the chat**

No, I was not about to tell them. I turned to Cecile. "Cross your heart, hope to die, ward off evil, I won't spy."

He nodded, crossing his heart and making the claw mark over his heart. "Tell."

"We found out we're both gay," I muttered.

Cecile slapped me. "So? Doesn't change a friendship."

Ahh, kind, supportive Cecile. "I kinda like him," I confessed.

He gave me a shoulder nudge. "Just try to build up a strong friendship. This gives you more understanding of him and your crush may die down."

"Thanks," I smiled, bumping heads with him.

Lou Ellen sent a message on the chat.

 **MistGirl: Celery u owe me 5 bucks**

 **TropicalPunch: Wut?**

 **SolaceShine: Wut did u bet on?**

 **CeleryStyx: That nico would be sorta excited that will was gay if he found out and that he would consider will a friend**

 **SolaceShine: PLEASE say that celery betted on it being true**

 **MistGirl: Nope.**

 **SolaceShine: THE FUCK?!**

Calypso got on the bus half an hour later, with 45 minutes left.

"Truth or dare?" Cecile asked.

"Dare!" I exclaimed, not about to confess my mini crush on Nico.

"So, write 'You are my Sunshine' on the back on your hand," he said.

I scribbled it on my hand, then looked at a text on my phone.

 **MistGirl: Man, Nico's accent is hella cool.**

 **SolaceShine: Wtf**

 **MistGirl: Y'know, his really thick, layered Italian accent? I go on his bus, don't ya know?**

 **SolaceShine: Yeah I did but he doesn't have an accent**

 **MistGirl: OMG I just heard him say this! Voice Message -**

I sighed, listening to it. "This is literally what he said. I copied it word for word. 'I put on the American accent to fit in when I was little, and I've almost forgotten my actual accent is the Italian one. As well as the higher-pitched one. Wait, did I tell you I talked in my normal-pitched voice with Will? It's just so natural!' OMG!"

 **SolaceShine: You don't know if hes talking about me or not**

 **MistGirl: Oh ain't someone in denial**

 **SolaceShine has left the chat**

Cecile - sitting on my left - and Calypso - sitting in front of me - groaned. "Spoil Sport!"

When we got to school, I headed to history straight after form time.

"Yes, Sir," Nico said next to me.

I turned to Lou. 'You weren't wrong," I mouthed. She laughed so hard that Cecile had to answer for her. I raised an eyebrow at him. He sighed.

"Well," he started. "I got a dare."

His voice his high and fluty as I usually heard it, but with a thick Italian accent. "I can tell," I smiled. "Your accent is cool."

"It's natural."

"Really?" I asked.

"Yeah," he smiled. "Y'like?"

"Yeah, I think it's really cool."

We were interrupted by Chiron. "Reyna, I'm sure a lot of our students are wondering how you broke your elbow. Care to share?"

Rachel shot a horrible room towards us. "Nico, you explain."

Nico scowled and began to talk in that endearing accent. "Well, someone threw a garden chair at her and the metal arm her her in the elbow cap. She ended up in A&E last night."

Octavian smirked. "Italian idiot."  
The reply was, "You'd better shut up, Chair-Thrower!"

Octavian retorted, "Watch it, Death Breath!"  
Chiron jumped almost a foot in the air. "Nico, Will, Reyna, Rachel, you can go to the computer lab with the ones I just sent out."

We walked down and went to the lab. We sat down at a desk nearby the lab, pulling out our laptops.  
"I'm so fed up," he groaned.  
I found his voice so endearing, I said, "I can't tell what's real or fake in your voice anymore."  
He groaned again. "I faked a lower-pitched American accent, but I actually have a high-pitched Italian accent."  
' _And I wouldn't trade it for the world,'_ I thought. ' _It's so cute.'_  
"So, shall we get started?"

After a while of video editing and fact-finding, I heard a high, quiet voice, singing.  
"So you run, through the shadows you roam..." Nico murmured sweetly.  
"What's that you're singing?" I asked.  
"So you run, through the shadows you roam..."  
"What's that you're singing?" I asked.  
"My mum wrote it," he replied, sounding on the verge of tears. "I'm exhausted, listening for a voice that can't speak..."  
"And maybe some-day, the bitter will fade from your bones..." I sang.  
He instantly echoed my words, with, "Fade from my bones..." He froze. "Wait, how do you know that?"  
"You were singing it yesterday," I confessed.  
"Sorry."

Yet, he carried on singing. I _almost_ laughed when Percy Jackson yelled, "Shut the heck up, whoever's singing absolute nonsense!"  
Nico yelled back in that beautifully endearing accent I loved so much. "I'll have you know that it's Italian, you uncultured swine!"  
After everyone had collapsed into a laughing fit, Nico slammed his head into his hands, yelling, "Uncultured swine!"  
I gasped, because laughing had winded me. "Oh, Kayla says hi."  
Nico grinned. "Cool."

Nico's breathing became panicked and fast. He swallowed thickly. "What's the date?"  
I looked quickly on my computer screen. "Thursday 8th September 2016, why'd you ask?"  
"It's two days," he gasped. "Two days." All the colour drained from his face and his eyes became glassy. "Hazel... get Hazel."  
I stood and grabbed his shoulders firmly. "Nico, what is it?"  
He shook his head, moving slowly, as if he was in water. "Tell her I realised it's the 10th of September soon."  
He staggered to his feet, grabbing my wrists, his knuckles turning white and his nails making marks in my skin. Then, his hands came loose and he crumpled to the floor.  
"Hazel!" I shouted.  
She jerked away from her place beside Frank. "What is it?" she asked.  
"Nico fainted. He said he 'realised it's the 10th of September soon'. He tried to stand, and he did... for a bit. Then he passed out."  
"Shit!" she exclaimed, turning a lot of heads, including that of two Sophomores. Bianca and someone else.  
She weaved her way over. "Oh no!" she exclaimed. "Nico! Nico! Nico!"

On the last yell, Nico blinked and stirred. "Soldatino!" she exclaimed. "Nico!"  
He sighed deeply, blinking quickly. "I'm alright! I'm alright!" He hauled himself upwards using the desk.  
He fell, but I caught him around the chest awkwardly. "Easy there, Di Angelo."  
"Wo-ah! I'm fine, I'm fine."  
Bianca stepped forward and touched in on the cheek. "Are you sure, Nico?"  
Bianca stood nearby and I sat Nico down. "Do you want to carry on researching?"  
Chiron ran out. "Go on IPlayer, my class. Watch the first episode of 'Six Wives with Lucy Worsely'."  
Nico and I were both drawn to the screen, only tearing our eyes away from the screens when the bell rang, halfway through the video.  
Nico's sister walked over. "Nico, what happened?"  
He gave an indifferent shrug. "I don't know. I was passed out."

She seriously could enter the eye-rolling Olympics. "So… Will? Right?"  
I nodded, still intimidated by the tall, strong teenager. "Yeah, it's Will."  
She cocked her head. "What happened?"  
"So, he was singing a song that your mum wrote…" I paused, choosing my words carefully.  
Bianca butted in. "Soldatino?" she exclaimed, incredulous. "Nico, you only sing that around people you're comfortable with!" she exclaimed.  
Nico's cheeks heated up and I saw a look in his eyes. "And I'm comfortable around Will. He's a friend."  
Friend? My gut flipped and I got a feeling in my heart. I saw a five dollar bill shifting between two hands.  
I talked. "Then, he told me that your mum wrote the song, because I found out about..." I explained, using sign language to say 'death'. "When we bumped into that guy..."  
Nico shook his head. "Quintus. We bumped into Quintus. Mr Extremely-Blunt-and-Forward."  
I chuckled, insensitively considering the circumstances. "Very wow, Nico! Then, I told him the date and he said, 'It's in two days. Two days. Hazel... get Hazel.' I asked him what it was and he told me to tell her that he realised that... What was it?"  
Nico sighed. "I said, 'Tell her I realised it's the 10th of September soon.' Then I passed out."  
Bianca gave him a kind smile, spouting some sort of total _gibberish_.  
As I was sitting there, crazily confused, Nico said, "Thanks. Yeah, please don't."  
Nico noticed the bemused look I was casting towards his sister when I asked, "What did you just say, because that most certainly wasn't Italian."  
Nico rolled his eyes. Those siblings could enter eye-rolling contests and take home the gold, seriously! "Our parents are big on languages, and Italy's quite big on it too. We knew a few languages by the time we moved over here _eight years ago_ and we've had private tutors for the rest since."  
I saw forward, interested. I wonder what he classified as 'a few'. "What languages?"  
"Italian, English, French, Spanish, Japanese, Korean, German… Is that it?" He cast a look towards Bianca for help.  
Oh my gods! He couldn't remember how many languages he spoke! Hil-arious!  
She wriggled her head around, scrunching her eyebrows together. "Bit of Norwegian. I gotta go!"  
She weaved back through the crowds, until she disappeared. Heading to get my stuff with Nico in a comfortable silence was one of the highlights of the day.

Reyna almost broke Nico's shoulder, and he almost broke mine.

He was running down the corridor, not looking where he was going, so it's not surprise he collided with me.  
I bent down and grabbed his dropped items. "Going somewhere?"  
He accepted them gratefully, breathing heavily. "Reyna almost broke my shoulder."  
' _And you almost broke mine,'_ I thought, smiling lightly. "Pissed that you fainted?"  
He was still gasping from his speedy dash up the stairs and down the hall. "Yeah, I ran. You're in my Art class, right?"  
I thought over a few class incidents, picking one out to ask Nico if he remembered it. An incident popped into my mind. Miss had been about to write on the board after going on about how she was an artist, then, she said 'I'm not an artist'. "Do you remember when Mrs mallet said 'I'm not an artist?"  
He chuckled sweetly. "Yes!" he chirped.  
"You're in my class," I replied. "So, your house tonight?"  
In my dirty mind, that sounded weird, sounds weird now, and will sound weird for years to come.  
Nico nodded curtly. "Wait, I'll ask if…"

He walked across the corridor and tapped a tall sophomore wearing a leather jacket, the one I had seen with Bianca the day before. She jerked in surprise. They exchanged a few words. Nico laughed, she turned red, they smirked at each other, then Nico walked back to me as his sister walked out of the classroom. I sighed when I saw his goofy grin that he was casting my way. "Who that?"  
Nico raised his voice, I now I realise that I was missing a _huge_ group joke. Of course, it took 'the thing' happening, but… what can you do?  
"Oh, she's just Bianca's _friend_!"  
Bianca walked over and pulled his hair, hard. He yelped quietly. Bianca smirked devilishly. "Niico, if you want a lift after school, you'd better shut up. Have fun with your _boyfriend_!"  
It was just a sibling joke, but my stomach turned strangely. Nico kicked her sharply in the leg, shouting more gibberish.  
Confused ( _again_ ), I asked what language it was.  
He paused before he answered. "It was… German."  
I gave him a slow nod. "So, art?"  
The bell rang.

Place choosing day, oh joy. The class went crazy. Luke whisked past Nico and knocked him into an awkward position. I pulled him up, and the only seats were four on the back left table. Rachel and Jason (I thought that was his name, anyway) were sat together along the left, and Calypso was sat with Cecile. I'm not going to bother explaining the positioning. Gods, even _Nico_ could do it better than me.  
Once she had announced that we were going to be showcasing our portraits (oh joy, fun times), she marked us all present and called… _my_ name.  
I held up my picture of Kayla. She started tracing a finger over my picture. "Who is this of?"  
I explained this is wa…a…a…a…ay too much detail: "My half-sister, twelve-year-old Kayla Knowles."  
She jerked upright, facing the class. "Do you think it's a good likeness?

Si-lence.

I got a _li-ttle_ nervous. As I write, _r-i-i-i-i-ght_ now, Nico is leaning over my shoulder and trying to edit what I'm writing. Okay, I give in, I was _very_ nervous.  
"Erm… I could get up a photo…."

To my relief (and the sunshine butterflies whizzing around my stomach, which got quite excited), Nico raised his hand. "I know her. It's an absolutely incredible likeness!" He sounded _so_ enthusiastic. And… I went all stuttery. "Th… thanks, Nico…"  
I saw all the heads on my table shift around and their mouths moved. All but Nico. Yeah, _now_ we figured out what those looks and whispers were, but it took 'the thing' happening… Selfish friends.

"Calypso Olympus!"  
She raised her paper. Nico giggled sweetly, for an unknown reason, Oh… wait… Valdez, Callie's date! I raised my eyebrow, surprised that such a gothic figure could make such a cute noise. I did _not_ have control of my mouth at this point, I swear, no matter what Nico makes it out to be. "Your giggle is cute."

"Touché, Solace," he grinned back, red dusting his cheeks.

I blushed. "Touché, Solace."

"And, your accent is awesome. I like it," I complimented. Where did my awkward side go? That's the question I'm asking as I type.

"Thanks, Solace." He turned redder than a tomato.

"Will, Nico, is there something you would like to share?"

We both froze. I never get told off. I am good at brushing it off and acting like nothing happened (Nico does that thing. He'll explain it better than me) but I _hate_ it at the time. Nico spoke up in his endearing accent. "I was complimenting his picture."

"Alright then…"

Jason spoke up too (thank the actual gods!) "I was whispering too, Miss."

"Okay, excused,"

Jason grinned. "Good likeness!"

"Great!"

Callie gave him a huge smile. "Thanks, Jason."

"So, who is it?" she asked.

"Leo. Leo Valdez. My friend."

Nico smirked, giving me a wicked craving for more. Good _gods_ , I sound _so_ cliché. " _Boy_ friend," he commented, childishly, I have to admit.

Jason leant across to me. "That smile Nico gave you: he never gives that to anyone but his siblings, and his mother, when she was still around. He said he told you?"

I nodded, not wanting to distract Nico, who was admiring the artwork. Jason continued to whisper. "Nico smiles genuinely to us, sure, but… there's something about that."

I sat back, feeling elated at this news.

"Nico di Angelo."

I smiled as he went up, raising my hand a little in support. He gave me a little nod of acknowledgement and a small smile, but he had more colour in his face. A sickly nervous colour. He showed the painting with shaking hands. He jumped a little when she asked him who it was, but I think I was the only one who noticed.

"My mother." I think he almost said 'Mama' as he usually did, but he restrained himself, but it would've been _so much cuter_ if he did. I'm sorry, but…

Luke Castellan got a wicked glint in his eyes. A different kind of 'wicked' to the feeling I got when Nico gave me that special smile. The one he only gave his family, and not even all of that. I felt special.

"Cheat," Luke snarled, snapping me from my daydream. "Your mother's _dead_."

I saw the pained look in his eyes and I longed to reach out and help him, to caress his face and tell him it was going to be okay. The painting fell from his hands, but Jacob scooped it up and gently slipped it back into his fingers. "Th… thanks you for that, Luke," he stuttered, obviously hurt. "I know. My sister modelled for me and I altered her features according to the photos." He ran back to our table, sealing the picture in his folder.

"Victoria Solace!"

Nico was close to tears. "That hurt."

I put a hand on his shoulder. "If I get a chance, I'll kill him," I growled. Not the best starter sentence. It felt… _off_ to talk about Luke like that. After the year before, I didn't feel fully against him yet. "That was extremely brave. Are you alright?"

He gave a little moan. "I think so."

His hands shook and his eyes were hysterical with sadness. "I;'ll kill you, Luke, I'll kill you…"

I took his shaking hands in mine, shaking my head. "Why Octavian broke your sister's arm to defend that bitch totally beats me."

He gave me another small nod, bumping me with his shoulder. "Thanks."

"Oi, Solace."

I turned. "Luke," I growled.

He smirked. "Still bitter about last year? I am _over_ with being friends with losers like you. Friendship isn't worth it. It always ends in…" He gestured to me. "Heartbreak."  
I stormed over. He hit a _soft spot_. "Luke, shut up."

He rolled his eyes. "Stop messing around with boys you have no chance with, saddo."

I sighed wearily, trying to act unprovoked. "Castellan, there is something called 'being allowed to be friends with a boy eve if you're a boy', y'know."

"Someone's in de- _ni-al_! Nico's a worthless nothing! He needs to know that grieving for that long is just _pathetic_!"

"You're a bully!" I exclaimed, raising my voice. Luke reached out to push me.

"I spoke the truth, Solace! The kid's a nothing! He needs to realise that and take his head out of the clouds, get his feet onto the ground!"

I spotted Nico out the corner of my eye as I tried to kick my old friend's legs out from underneath him. He placed his hands on my chest and gave me a hard shove. I dropped to the ground with a loud thump. "I'm not injured. I'm just winded," I gasped, seeing Nico's anxious expression.

Nico ran over. "Excuse me? It's not polite to talk about someone behind their back, you know."

"But you're an exception. You and your stupid mother!" He lunged forward and pushed Nico down, but, with a burst of anger, he swept Luke's legs from under him with one move of his foot.

I heard a sharp whistle. There was a sophomore on hall duty. "Castellan!" she shrieked. "Office! Now!"

I felt sorry for him when he let out a small whimper in protest. "What about them?"

"They were defending themselves!" the dark-haired ten exclaimed. "You provoked it, Luke! Now!"

He dizzily made a dash down the stairs, towards the SDM block.

The girl offered her hand to Nico. "Zoe Nightshade. Pleased to make your acquaintance."

We were whisked onto our feet and dusted down. "So, why did you defend me?" Nico asked.

"He found out your mum died through gaining Annabeth's trust," she explained, as if it were common knowledge. I could see Nico's eyes widening in horror. I edged closer to him and twined my fingers with his. "He must know a lot about it. If someone insults your mum, you want to kill them."

It clicked. "So, you're friends with Bianca?"

She nodded, before a Grade 8 girl ran out, babbling some nonsense about a rumour. "See ya!"

I sighed, embarrassed. "Sorry. He came up to me and started calling you my boyfriend and insulting you."

"Don't apologise. Thanks."

Hey, Solace!"

I smiled when I heard Nico call out to me. "Hey, di Angelo!" I replied.

We chuckled as I reached him. Hazel skipped over with her boyfriend. At the time, I had zilch idea of his name, but now I'm slapping myself. It's Frank! They were absorbed into their own world.

"How was last lesson?" he asked.

I remembered thudding onto my _other_ shoulder when Luke grabbed the legs of the stool I as sitting on… and flipped it. "Luke grabbed the legs of my stool and I toppled to the floor. He got another detention."

Nico laughed. "Oh… snap!"

"He used that old threat… What is it? Oh yeah!"

The Hermes threat was from some old-timey Greek god that came down and turned into mortal, always with a truck. He kidnapped his wives and threw them in the back of his van is they didn't cooperate.

"Yeah?"

"Well, erm… uh, it's 'I'll throw you/him/her/them in the back of Hermes' truck. Funnily enough, that's his dad's name."

Nico rolled his eyes. "That guy is good at jinxing people. It could happen."

I shook my head fiercely. "Nico, don't think too wild. He is not going to get you thrown in the back of his dad's van."

Bianca walked out. "Hey, you two!"

Nico pulled on his backpack. "Let's go."

"So, you finished your book?" I asked, trying to make conversation.

"Yeah. It's called 'Atlas Shrugged', by the way. You'll be reading it for R.P soon. I'm reading 'Twilight' now."

"Cool. I'm still on Harry Potter. Second last one."

Nico held a hand over his heart. " _Solace_! I thought a _gerk_ like you would have read every single huge fandom series in the world!"

I rolled my eyes. Okay, what is it with me, my friends, and eye-rolling? Gerk, by the way, is a mix between geek, nerd, and dork. "A, _gerk_ , really?! B, does medical books count?"

Nico scrunched up his eyes. He looked _so_ cute. "No. It doesn't."

I pouted. "Aww!"

"You dork."

"C'mon, Nico, you know you love me!"

Where the bloody fucking Hades did that come from? I made him very uncomfortable.

"When pigs fly!" he exclaimed squeakily, his face blood red.

Bianca whipped her head around. "Look, there's a flying pig!"

Nico rolled his eyes again. "Over my dead body!"

I mimed stabbing Nico to annoy him. "Damn me and my metaphors."

Nico brought up Luke.

"That son of a bitch! I can't believe he did that!" he exclaimed. Real subtle.

"What did Castellan do now?" Bianca asked.


	6. Luke Castellan - Nico

**Thank you clicking on this story!**

 **So, here's a little guide to the text messages:**

 **Nico: DeathAngel**

 **Reyna: Praetor Girl**

 **Bianca: BinnyArrow**

 **Thalia: PineConeFace**

 **Percy: SeaweedBrain**

 **Annabeth: WiseGirl**

 **Jason: SparkingGrace**

 **Piper: BeautyQueen**

 **Frank: ChineseCanadianBabyMan**

 **Hazel: GoldDigger**

 **Leo: RepairBoy**

 ***raises hand timidly* I have 12 reviews, 11 favourites, and 14 followers…  
OMG, thank you so much, everyone!  
Hand Knit: Thanks for reviewing on two of my stories! Addicted to what? Skittles or my story? ;-)  
newphangirl: Thank you! *whispers* I have a loyal reader!  
Aqua Jackson: I have another slightly surprising ship coming! You **_**will**_ **get your fair share of Solangelo fluff, but you also get Solangelo almost throwing up over this new ship!**

 **Stay Strong and Enjoy!**

When I woke up, picked up my clothes and went into the bathroom. After I had changed, I saw a figure moving outside. I opened the window and looked out. Huh, the guy looked like an ancient version of Luke Castellan. He was taking pictures of our house, in a smart suit.

"Oi, fuck off!" I shouted. "Go and take photos of your own house, asshole!"

Little did I know back then, this was only the start. Ahhh, oblivious, oblivious me.

Hazel stood behind me, her mouth open in shock. I jumped down from the windowsill and shrugged. "This weirdo was taking snaps of our house," I explained.

I tugged on the doorknob. "Uh, Rey locked us in again," I sighed.

Last year, Reyna found the key to the bathroom door. The silver key that went in the old-fashioned lock. Ever since, she's been locking people in. Almost. Every. Day. I can say that I actually wrote a bunch of this _while_ locked in the bathroom. Don't ask why I had my laptop with me.

I covered my eyes while Hazel stripped off her grey 'This Girl Likes Her Sleep' nightie and pulled on underwear (no, for all those weirdoes hoping for details, I'm sorry to say I'm not going to make myself uncomfortable by going any further into this) a Mickey Mouse sequined t-shirt, black skinny jeans, and a velvety black jumper with 'MAKE IT HAPPEN' embellished on it. I was allowed to open my eyes when she was pulling on her 'Thursday' socks.

"So, wait..." she murmured. "REYNA!" she roared.

Reyna sprinted up the stairs to unlock the door. "Open up!" she screamed as it slammed open.

We rushed out and ran downstairs to eat. Full. English. I couldn't help but point out that we were in America, not England, which got me slapped with a napkin.

After we'd eaten, I packed my bag and tied my laces on the doormat, before rushing out onto the bus with the others. We spent half an hour chatting about our friends and the endless-data thing. We all had unlimited phone data (yay for rich parents!), so this obviously ended up with us texting the others, who lived nowhere near as far away as us. No joke, we have to get on the bus at seven and then it does this annoying loop thing that takes an extra half an hour, so we get to school at eight fifteen! I take the public bus because no school bus goes as far out as our place.

 **DeathAngel: How did last night go for everyone?**

 **SeaweedBrain: Good. We did very little work tho**

 **WiseGirl: Great. We got so much done!**

 **DeathAngel: We got a whole ton of work done. We got like 5 minutes into our factual video**

 **WiseGirl: 0.0 Video? I didn't know you did videos!**

 **DeathAngel: I don't. Will does.**

 **DeathAngel: Fuck I shouldn't have said that**

 **BeautyQueen: Damn right you shouldn't what happened**

 **DathAngel: Erm...**

 **SparkingGrace: Were waiting Death Breath**

 **DeathAngel: Conversations, awkward, texting, dog attack, Quintus, park, house, siblings, videos, traffic light girl, eggs. Everywhere**

 **SeaweedBrain: Srsly?**

 **DeathAngel: I'll 'splain at school**

 **SeaweedBrain: You better**

After that half an hour, Percy and Annie got on. We waved them over to the back.

"Explain," Percy ordered.

"So..." I started.

When I done, there was a _lot_ of shocked faces looking at me, including the face of a girl didn't know. I heard her say, "Cecile owns me five bucks!" before pulling out her phone.

I raised an eyebrow. Percy snickered. "OTP."

"Oi!" I shouted, attracting a lot of attention when I kicked him. "We're just friends."

"What was the awkward part?" he asked.

I blushed. "I blurted out that I'm gay."

Back then, I was thinking ' _idiot, idiot, idiot,'_ but now, I'm thinking, ' _smart, yet, oblivious idiot.'_

Percy rubbed his leg. "Ow."

The girl sniggered, tapping out a message before switching to Color Switch.

Piper got on the bus and gave me a crushing hug. "Hey, Death Kid!"  
I smiled, giving her a peck on the cheek as a greeting. "Hey, Pipes!"

"So, what was that Perce text about?"

I buried my face in my sleeve. "Please... Stop..."

She hugged me. "Aww! Of course, I'm so sorry!"

I bent forward and whispered in her ear. "I kinda like him, but I can't say anything, because they'll make fun... of... me..."

A tear rolled down my cheek. Piper squeezed my hand, whispering. "Just try to build up a strong friendship. This gives you more understanding of him and your crush may die down."

I nodded. "Thanks."

She pulled out her phone. "I wonder how Leo's second... ohh!" she exclaimed. "They must've discussed the project _on_ their date!"

"Holy shit!" I exclaimed, tapping his screen.

"What?" Piper asked.

I showed her the message from Bianca, who had gone in her car to Thalia's school.

 **BinnyArrow: Guess what?**

That's never good in my family. Guess what? Will Solace is your partner! Guess what? Your mum is dead! Guess what? There's a nucelear bomb in your house! Guess what? You've been kidnapped!

Okay, maybe not, but...

 **DeathAngel: What...**

 **BinnyArrow: I got asked out**

I checked my black watch. She should've been at Thalia's house by now, to pick up her and her Jason from their house before driving them to school. She usually spent five or ten minutes there, so... she wasn't at school yet. Who the... Oh, snap!  
 **DeathAngel: Thals?**

 **BinnyArrow: Yeah... how did u know**

 **DeathAngel: Ive shipped you two for longer than percy and annie have been together**

 **BinnyArrow: Seriously? Anyway, I said yes**

 **DeathAngel: OTP!**

 **BinnyArrow: Shut up**

I squeaked. "Guys, OTP!"

"What?" Percy asked. "You and Will?"

I rolled my eyes. "No. An OTP that's actually _together_!"

"You and Will," Percy smirked.

I sobbed silently, two tears running down my cheeks. "Guys, _please_ stop. Please."

Percy shut up. "Sorry, Neeks."

I shook my head. "I'm fine, don't worry."

"Who is it?" Annabeth asked.

"It's _la mia amata sorella_ and Thals!" I exclaimed, excited.

"Who?" she asked.

"Oh, La _mia amata sorella_ is Bianca. And Thals is Thalia, Jason's sister."

They all gasped. Annabeth handed me twenty dollars. "Nice."

"I influenced it!" I smiled, accepting a Snickers bar from Percy. "Thanks."

 **DeathAngel: Nice.**

 **BinnyArrow: She kissed me.**

 **DeathAngel: THE FUCK!**

 **BinnyArrow: Like the StB thing don't freak**

 **DeathAngel: 5 seconds?**

 **BinnyArrow: Yeah basically**

 **DeathAngel: Hazel is pissed that she didn't notice**

 **BinnyArrow: Wow. Bye**

Jason called Piper and we both gulped. She put her phone on speaker.

"Hey, Jase," she smiled.

"Hey, Babe," he replied, in a way that made me sick.

"So... why the call?"

"I can't just miss my girlfriend?" he asked.

"Oh, c'mon!" she exclaimed. "You _never_ do that!"

He chuckled. "True, true. So, I think I've missed something. Thals is just packing her bag, but she keeps smiling at Bianca in _that_ way. I have a feeling Nico might know what was going on but Pipes is at the top of the recent contacts, so I called her."

We burst out laughing. "They... got... together..." I gasped between chuckles.

Jason ended the call.

"Hey," Percy said. "My mum's making blue bruschettas tonight for dinner."

I sat forward. "How do you say it?" My Italian accent burst into my voice and everyone looked at me.

"Broo-shet-a, Nico. Broo-shet-a."

Just to show them up, I let my thick Italian accent slip into my next sentence. "Percy, it's broo-sket-a. That's how you say the proper Italian word."

They all laughed. "Truth or dare?"

I shrugged. "Sure."

"Nico, truth or dare?" Jason asked

No, I was _not_ about to confess my itty bitty, teeny weeny, minute, minuscule crush on Will Solace to the whole group. "Dare."

"Speak in that accent for the _whole_ day!" he exclaimed.

I frowned. "Sure!"

"I put on the American accent to fit in when I was little, and I've almost forgotten my actual accent is the Italian one. As well as the higher-pitched one. Wait, did I tell you I talked in my normal-pitched voice with Will? It's just so natural!" I exclaimed.

I frowned when I saw the girl mouthing my sentence into her phone. I shot her a look. " _Ascoltate, tesoro, ripetendo quello che dico non è il modo per ottenere popolare, lo sai_!"

Hazel raised her eyebrows at me. "Really, Nico?" she asked.

I frowned, shrugging.

When we got to school, we had history first, where we could work on our projects. When I said 'Yes, Sir', I got a _lot_ of odd looks. Like, a lot.

When Will looked at me, I sighed. "I got a dare."

Not only was my voice thick with an accent, but it was also high-pitched, like normal. "I can tell. Your accent is cool."

"It's natural," I replied, blushing deeply.

"Really?"

"Yeah," I grinned flirtatiously. "Y'like?"

"Yeah, I think it's really cool."

Chiron spoke up over the chatter in the class. "Reyna, I'm sure a lot of our students are wondering how you broke your elbow. Care to share?"

She and Rachel turned bright red. I chuckled. She shot me a murderous look. "Nico, you explain."

"Well, someone threw a garden chair at her and the metal arm her her in the elbow cap. She ended up in A&E last night," I explained, my natural accent easily flowing off my tongue, the pitch making me easier to understand.

Octavian smirked. "Italian idiot."

I turned to him. In my pretentious native accent, I snarled, "You'd better shut up, Chair-Thrower."

Octavian stood and picked up his chair. "Watch it, Death Breath."

Chiron jumped. "Nico, Will, Reyna, Rachel, you can go to the computer lab with the ones I just sent out."

When we got down there, I sat down with Will at a nearby desk. I sighed. "I'm so fed up."  
"I can't tell what's real or fake in your voice anymore," he replied.

I sighed. "I faked a lower-pitched American accent, but I actually have a high-pitched Italian accent."

He nodded. "So, shall we get started?"

After a while of video editing and fact-finding, I started singing.

"So you run, through the shadows you roam..."

Will turned to me. "What's that you're singing?"

"My mum wrote it," I sighed, before lowering my voice. "I'm exhausted, listening for a voice that can't speak."

Will smiled at me. "And maybe some-day, the bitter will fade from your bones..." he sang.

"Fade from my bones," I echoed unconsciously. "Wait, how do you know that?"  
"You were singing it yesterday," he confessed.

I blushed. "Sorry." Despite this, I carried on singing, until Percy hollered, "Shut the heck up, whoever's singing absolute nonsense!" from the other side of the computer lab.

I started to speak, but I quickly let myself slip into my native accent. "I'll have you know that it's Italian, you uncultured swine!"

Everyone burst out laughing. I blushed, but I still shouted, "Uncultured swine!" into my sleeves.

Will laughed. "Oh, Kayla says hi!"

I smiled. "Cool."

Suddenly, I realised something. It was nearing the time of Mama's death. I swivelled to Will, eyes wide and breaths shallow. "What's the date?"

"Thursday 8th September 2016, why'd you ask?"

I almost fainted. "It's in two days," I said. "Two days." My head swam. "Hazel... get Hazel."

Will took my shoulders in his hands. "Nico, what is it?"

I shook my head, feeling faint. "Tell her I realised it's the 10th of September soon."

I stood up and grabbed Will's wrists for support, but I crumpled to the floor.

"Nico!"

I blinked. I was spread-eagled on the carpet, staring right up into someone's eyes.

"Soldatino! Nico!"

I was Bianca. I sighed. "I'm alright. I'm alright!" I exclaimed, stumbling to my feet.

I almost fell again, but someone was at my elbow, and they caught me when I lurched to the side. "Easy there, Di Angelo."

Will. I managed to get upright. "Wo-ah! I'm fine, I'm fine."

Bianca looked worried. "Are you sure, Nico?"

I nodded. "I'm sure."

Will sat down, guiding me to my seat. "Do you want to carry on researching?"

I never got a chance to answer. Chiron walked (I swear to gods he galloped) out and told us to go on IPlayer and watch this programme called 'Six Wives'.

I was absolutely hooked. I loved King Henry VIII and his wives, and every story that surrounded it. I didn't look away until the bell rang, halfway through the video.

Bianca walked over to us. "Nico, what happened?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. I was passed out."

She rolled her eyes. "So... Will? Right?"

He nodded. "Yeah, it's Will."

"What happened?"

I nodded. "Yeah, do enlighten. I do _not_ remember."

"So..." he recalled. "He was singing a song that your mum wrote..."

"Soldatino?" she asked. "Nico, you only sing that around people you're comfortable with!" she exclaimed.

Now, my face was _bright_ red, but I simply replied, "And I'm comfortable around Will. He's a friend."

Hazel shot Piper a look and, after everything that happened, they told me that she mouthed, 'Five dollars.' Real subtle.

He continued with his story. "Then, he told me that your mum wrote the song, because I found out about..." He made a small gesture with his hands that meant 'death'. "When we bumped into that guy..."

"Quintus," I interjected. "We bumped into Quintus. Mr Extremely-Blunt-and-Forward."

He chuckled. "Very wow, Nico! Then, I told him the date and he said, 'It's in two days. Two days. Hazel... get Hazel.' I asked him what it was and he told me to tell her that he realised that... What was it?"

I sighed. "I said, 'Tell her I realised it's the 10th of September soon.' Then I passed out."

Bianca smiled softly. "neoleul tashaji anh-a niko. geuleon sig-eulo kkaedal-aya manhabnida. nega naleul wonhaji anh-eumyeon haggyoe malhaji anh-eulgeoya."

"Thanks," I replied. "Yeah, please don't."

Will looked at her in confusion. "What did you just say, because that most certainly wasn't Italian."

I rolled my eyes. "Our parents are big on languages, and Italy's quite big on it too. We knew a few languages by the time we moved over here _eight years ago_ and we've had private tutors for the rest since."

Will sat forward. "What languages?"

I sighed. "Italian, English, French, Spanish, Japanese, Korean, German… Is that it?" I asked, looking at Bi.

"Bit of Norwegian," she replied. "I gotta go!"

We headed back to class to get our stuff, then we went our separate ways, my heart pounding.

I should've expected that Hazel would tell Reyna. It was stupid of me not to avoid her. She approached me after English, shoving my shoulder into a locker. "Bloody Hell!" I exclaimed.

"Nico!" she exclaimed. "You don't just _faint_ with grief and carry on as if nothing happened!"

I struggled in her grip. "Rey! Get off!"

"Nico, you are in absolute _denial_ with your emotions!" she shouted.

"Rey-na!" I groaned. "You're attracting attention! Can you _please_ wait until we get home!?"

I heard a chuckle. It was a girl with caramel brown hair, standing beside a taller boy with dark brown hair. The girl from the bus earlier. Reyna released me. I grabbed my stuff and ran upstairs, colliding with Will (again).

"Going somewhere?" he grinned.

I sighed, exhaling heavily. "Reyna almost broke my shoulder."

"Pissed that you fainted?"

"Yeah," I gasped. "I ran. You're in my Art class, right?"

"Do you remember when Mrs Mallet said 'I'm not an artist'?" he asked.

"Yes."

"You're in my class," he chuckled. "So, your house tonight?"

I nodded. "Wait, I'll ask if…"

I walked across the hall and tapped Thalia on the shoulder, making her jump. "Dear Gods, Nico!" she exclaimed.

I laughed. "Congratulations for earlier."

She blushed. "About that…"

"It's fine," I assured her. "So, are you going anywhere tonight?"

"Jason's going to Percy's," she shrugged.

"Could Bi take us home? I _really_ don't want to walk."

She sighed. "I'm sure that could be arranged. Meet us here after your last lesson."

"Thanks, Thals!" I exclaimed, running back.

Will sighed. "Who's that?"

I spoke loud enough for both of them to hear, as they were talking opposite us. "Oh, she's just Bianca's _friend_!"

Bianca walked over and pulled my hair. "Nico, if you want a lift after school, you'd better shut up. Have fun with your _boyfriend_!"

I kicked her in the shin as she walked away. "Sie, Miss, sind ein totes Mädchen zu Fuß!"

"What language was that?" he asked.  
"It was…" I paused for a few seconds. "German."

He nodded. "So, art?"

Just that second, the bell rang.

We headed into art, only to find the tables had been rearranged. When Mrs Mallet announced we could choose our seats, our class went _wild_. I was standing beside Will, I got knocked over by someone and he helped me up. By that time, the only spare table was four spaces on the table at the back. Jason and a redhead (ahh, it was Rachel!) along the left side, Calypso and the boy from downstairs along the front were already sat down. I sat down at the back, facing the board, next to Will, and Hazel and Victoria sat along the right side (left from where we were sat, right to the teacher… you know what? Whatever…), Victoria closest to me and Jason closest to Will.

Mrs Mallet stood up. "Today, we're going to showcase our portraits!"

Everyone groaned. She smiled forcefully. "So, is everyone here?... Good!" She quickly marked us all present.

"First up is… Will Solace!"

He stood up and walked to the front, holding up his picture.

"Who is this of?" she asked, examining the stroke work.

"My half-sister, twelve-year-old Kayla Knowles."

"Do you think it is a good likeness?" She asked.

There was a short silence. Will looked uncomfortable. "Erm… I could get up a photo…"

I raised a timid hand. "I know her. It's an absolutely incredible likeness!"  
Will flushed. "Th… thanks, Nico…"

Jason and the others on my table shared looks. _Now_ , I know what those glances meant, but it took 'the thing' happening for them to give in.

"Next… Calypso Olympus!"

Calypso showed off her picture. I smothered a chuckle, but it came out as a giggle. Will raised an eyebrow at me. "Your giggle is cute."

I blushed. "Touché, Solace."

"And, your accent is awesome. I like it."

I blushed even harder. "Thanks, Solace."

"Will, Nico, is there something you would like to share?"

We froze, and blushes crept up our cheeks. "I was complimenting his picture," I squeaked in my thick accent.

She smiled cynically. "Alright then…"

Jason piped up. "I was whispering too, Miss."

"Okay, excused," she finished.

Jason grinned. "Good likeness!"

I nodded. "Great!"

I was doing that thingy… Y'know, when you speak louder, faster, and more earnestly after getting told off. You put your hand up _way_ more often; that sort of thing.

She smiled. "Thanks, Jason!"

"So, who is it?" Mrs Mallet asked.

"Leo. Leo Valdez. My friend."

I grinned. " _Boy_ friend!" I snickered slightly.

The joke was on me, though.

"Nico di Angelo."

Crap.

I stood up and walked to the front, presenting my painting to the class.

"Who's that, Nico?" she asked.

"My mother," I replied, my Italian accent still coming through strong, fighting the urge to say 'mama', so I wouldn't get laughed at by the entire class.

I saw someone smirking at the back of the class. Luke. "Cheat. Your mother's _dead_."

I dropped my painting in shock. "Th… thank you for that, Luke. I know. My sister modelled for me and I altered her features according to photos."

I walked back to my desk, sealing it in my folder. The class was shocked.

"Victoria Solace!"

I sighed. "That… hurt."

Will put a hand on my shoulder. "If I get the chance, I'll kill him. That was extremely brave. Are you alright?"

I groaned. "I think so."

I was dying inside. He insulted my Mama. That was insulting my very soul. My hands shook. "I'll kill you, Luke, I'll kill you…"

He shook his head. "Why Octavian broke your sister's arm to defend that bitch totally beats me."

I nodded, nudging him. "Thanks."

"You're a bully!"

I jumped. I turned to see Will and Luke standing off in the hall. "I spoke the truth, Solace! The kid's a nothing! He needs to realise that and take his head out of the clouds, get his feet onto the ground!"

They were arguing about _me_. Will tried to kick out his legs, but Luke took him right in the chest, pushing him backwards. He coughed. "I'm not injured. I'm just winded."

But Will was my friend, so I needed to hurt Luke. I ran over. "Excuse me? It's not polite to talk about someone behind their back, you know."

"But you're an exception. You and your stupid mother!" He lunged forward and shoved my shoulders. I dropped to the ground. I swept my leg around and brought him crashing down on his back.

I heard a sharp whistle. Someone was on hall duty. "Castellan! Office! Now!"

He whimpered in protest. "What about them?"

"They were defending themselves!" the sophomore exclaimed. "You provoked it, Luke! Now!"

He stumbled up and ran towards the office in the SDM (sport, drama, and main) block.

She held out a hand to me. "Zoe Nightshade. Pleased to make your acquaintance."

After Will and I had got our breath back and we were dusted off, I managed to ask Zoe a question. "So, why did you defend me?"

"He found out that your mum died through gaining Annabeth's trust. He must know a lot about it. If someone insults your mum, you want to kill them."

"So…" Will countered. "You're friends with Bianca?"

She nodded, before turning to see a Grade 8 girl running towards us. "Zoe!"

We turned. "Phoebe!" she cried. "What happened?"

She had tears on her face. "She spread a rumour about me. She said I fucked Jason Grace and that I shot someone. Half the class has fallen for it, the gullible idiots."

Zoe walked off. "See ya."

Will sighed. "Sorry. He came up to me and started calling you my boyfriend and insulting you."

I shook my head. "Don't apologise. Thanks."

"Hey, Solace!"

I raised my hand at the stunning blonde on the other side of the corridor. "Hey, di Angelo!"

We both chuckled. Hazel walked up with Frank. "Hey, guys!"

We waved at them, but they immediately dissolved into a conversation.

"How was last lesson?" I asked.

"Luke grabbed the legs of my stool and I toppled to the floor. He got another detention."

"Oh, snap!" I snickered.

"Yeah, he used that old threat… What is it? Oh yeah!"

I cocked my head. "Yeah?"

"Well, erm… uh, it's 'I'll throw you/him/her/them in the back of Hermes' truck. Funnily enough, that's his dad's name."  
I groaned. "That guy is good at jinxing people. It could happen."

He shook his head. "Nico, don't think too wild. He is not going to get you thrown in the back of his dad's van."

Bianca walked out. "Hey, you two!"

We both grinned. I hefted my skull backpack. "Let's go."

As we walked, we chatted. "So," he asked. "You finished your book?"

"Yeah," he replied. "It's called 'Atlas Shrugged', by the way. You'll be reading it for R.P soon. I'm reading 'Twilight' now."

"Cool. I'm still on Harry Potter. Second last one."

I held a hand over my heart in mock hurt. " _Solace_! I thought a _gerk_ like you would have read every single huge fandom series in the world!"

He rolled his eyes, exhaling through his nose heavily. "A, _gerk_ , really?! B, does medical books count?"

I scrunched my eyes, exasperated. "No. It doesn't."

He pouted. "Aww!"

I rolled _my_ eyes. "You dork."

He nudged me. "C'mon, Nico, you know you love me!"

I blushed heavily, my feelings for him stirring around in my stomach. "When pigs fly!"

Bianca whipped her head around. "Look, there's a flying pig!"

I rolled my deep purple eyes (no, you didn't misread that, I have _purple_ eyes) and snorted. "Over my dead body!"

Will mimed stabbing me. I sighed. "Damn me and my metaphors."

Hazel and Frank laughed out loud. We bickered good-naturedly all the way to the student parking, when I accidentally-on-purpose brought up Luke.

"That son of a bitch!" I exclaimed. "I can't believe he did that!"

As we climbed into the car, Bianca spun around. "What did Castellan do now?"

 **** **Sie, Miss, sind ein totes Mädchen zu Fuß!** **= You miss, are a dead girl walking!**

 **neoleul tashaji anh-a niko. geuleon sig-eulo kkaedal-aya manhabnida. nega naleul wonhaji anh-eumyeon haggyoe malhaji anh-eulgeoya =I don't blame you, Nico. Realising like that must hit hard. I won't tell the school if you don't want me to.**

 **Ascoltate, tesoro, ripetendo quello che dico non è il modo per ottenere popolare, lo sai = Listen up, sweetheart, repeating what I say isn't the way to get popular, you know**

 **Anyway, thanks for reading this remix of the dictionary and goodbye!**


	7. Computing - Will

**Thank you clicking on this story!**

 **So, here's a little guide to the text messages:**

 **Will: SolaceShine**

 **Lou Ellen: MistGirl**

 **Cecile: CeleryStyx**

 **Calypso: TropicalPunch**

 **Rachel: FortuneTeller**

 **A little warning in advance, about halfway through the chapter, there is a really lengthy description of Nico's second drawing. Don't read it if you can't be bothered.**

 **Thank you so much for all the kind reviews!**

 **ISB: Cliché is what I do best, sir/miss! Don't worry, I'm going to be killing the cliché in its roots soon.**

 **Newphangirl: Thanks so much! Also, yeah, that's an understatement…**

 **Aqua Jackson: Have you spotted the new pairing yet?**

 **Enjoy!**

I pondered several ways to say it in my head, and the best one I could think of was… "Well, Castellan was being a total dick, as usual."

A mini pack of Pringles hit me in the face. "Elaborate, Will," Thalia Grace snapped.

I took a small breath, glancing at Nico before talking. "Well, Nico showed his picture to the class."

Nico's opened his mouth, but his voice came out as barely more than a whisper. "I painted Bianca, then I edited it to look like Mama," he stuttered, his voice cracking. "When I said it was Mama, Luke said 'Cheat. Your mother's dead'. I said, 'Th… thank you for that, Luke. I know. My sister modelled for me and I altered her features according to photos.' Then… what did he say?"

I saw a truly heartbreaking look in his deep purple eyes, and I took his thin, pale hand, which was shaking. I gave it a squeeze, and he squeezed back, tracing 'I'm alright' on my palm. "Something about her being worthless," I told them. "Which isn't true."

"I said how I painted it, then…" Nico started, but his voice cracked.

I traced back a reply on the back of his hand with my thumb, still clutching it. 'You sure?' I traced. He gave me a small smile and nodded. 'Sure.' I smiled back, still holding his hand to comfort him. "He said 'thank you, I know that."

"I nearly ripped up the picture," he finished.

Bianca swerved the car. I carried on talking, slowly and reluctantly slipping my hand out of Nico's. "I had a fight with him," I explained, not mentioning that he was an old friend. That might make Nico think twice about me. "He insulted Nico and - don't laugh - called him my boyfriend."

Why would they laugh? Bianca teased Nico about it anyway! At the time, I thought it would never come true. Now, I feel like an idiot for over-thinking it. "Luke knocked me down, then Nico when he tried to defend me. Nico knocked his feet from under him and.. Zoe, was it?"

Nico nodded, burying his face in his long, feathery, black hair, breathing in and out heavily. "Zoe gave him a detention," I continued. "He also got another for pulling my chair from underneath me in science."

Nico nodded, wiping a couple of tears from his eyes with his sleeves, before smiling at me, mouthing 'thanks'.

"So, Zoe sorted it out?" Thalia asked rhetorically.

We both nodded. "Yeah."

I saw Bianca give a cheeky smile in the mirror, showing off her perfect front teeth. Even though she kept her hand on the wheel while she talked, I could tell there were a hundred gestures she wanted to make. "You two have made _exceedingly_ fast friends," She commented. "It takes Nico bloody _ages_ to establish _any_ sort of friendship."

I chuckled. From what I've heard, it took Nico three years to befriend Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase. I asked them about this just yesterday, and they said yes, but from Nico, I got a rather indignant, "Two and a half years, actually!" He really is a dork, through and through.

Nico flushed adorably. "I guess we have," he shrugged. "We just… sorta… clicked."

"Say what you want about him, Bi, but his face is always that colour!" Thalia chortled.

I laughed along with them, but I was blushing furiously. Nico _did_ know that was a term used for romance, right? Update: he just told me that, yes he did know afterwards, but, then it was the best description he could think of.

I grinned. "I guess we have."

oOo

I admired the incredibly neat house. It was all as tidy as my room. I almost stepped _right_ onto the bright white carpet, but Nico stopped me, demanding that I take my shoes off on the doormat. My feet literally sank into the carpet as we walked to the dazzling kitchen. I sat down at the absolutely _pristine_ white kitchen island, trying and failing not to slide off the shiny black leather seats. Bianca brought out a seven layer dip and I chuckled as Nico's fingers eagerly darted for the carrot sticks.

A few minutes later, Nico grabbed my wrist. Surprised at the sudden contact, I dropped the cucumber I was holding. Nico sighed and scooped it up, throwing the dirty wet wipe into the bin.

"Don't freak," Thalia commented.

"Will, you've got guacamole on your nose," he snorted.

I crossed my eyes and tried to prod it off my nose using the bright white fabric napkin. "Nope. Nope, nope…" Nico groaned, watching me utterly _fail_. "Here, let me."  
He snatched it out of my hands. I saw him pull a face at how it was still warm from me clutching at it. He leant forward and wiped it off my nose, his face only inches away from my own. I turned pink and Nico turned a stunning scarlet. I swear, for him, it's either no blush or bright red for him.

"Yeah, you're right, Thals: his face is always that colour!" Bianca giggled.

Nico gave her a pitying smile. "Shall we get started on the project?"

I pulled out my laptop once we were in Nico's room. It was as tidy as mine. I opened the video-editing and started to animate. After a while of making the video - I managed to make one minute and fifteen seconds of it - Nico closed his fact website down. "C… can I have a go?" he asked. "Y'know… editing?"

Excited someone was interested in my editing, I patted the skull-print bed sheets beside me. I balanced the laptop on our knees and began to instruct him. "It's touch screen, so no need to worry about the scroll pad."  
"So, what are we going to do?" he asked, a curious edge to his voice.  
"We're going to animate a page of the newspaper."  
We were using the virtual newspaper from my VIP option, where the articles can say exactly what you want, and you can choose any picture you want.

"So, how do I animate it to turn over?" Nico questioned me, his adorable, thick accent making me melt.

I highlighted the edge of the paper, bringing up the effects along the bottom of the page. As Nico picked one, I touched his hand. "Oh, erm, sorry," he stuttered.

I smiled. "Not a problem, di Angelo."

I guided him through some really quite difficult stuff. He got it all really quickly, but he still got incredibly frustrated with himself, but I kept going with teaching him. We got through 45 seconds of footage until we decided to stop. "You did good, Neeks."

He turned bright red at me calling him such a private nickname. He looked _very_ cute when he blushed, but I never meant to make him feel uncomfortable. In a way, it was payback for him calling me Sunny.

"Yeah, right," he snorted, as a cover-up for his embarrassment.  
"No, really, you did great! You picked it up faster than anyone!" I encouraged, grinning like a _crazy person_.  
"No problem, Neeks!" He gave me that 'special smile', and my insides melted.

oOo

"Hey," Nico murmured after a few seconds. "I have something to show you."

He lead me down the hall, showing me a door under the stairs. He opened it and stepped inside, revealing a little room that stretched the entire length of the under stairs. Each step was hollow, making a little shelf, each one crammed with books. There was beanbags, throws, and rugs all over the floor, as well as a little desk. It was low-lit by lamps and the walls were covered in pictures. The walls, floor, and 'ceiling' were made of a dark, shiny wood.

"Wow… this is amazing!" I exclaimed, excited, jumping and almost hitting my head.

Nico smiled softly, standing on a wonky dark oak chair to reach to the books on the higher stairs. "I knew you'd like it."

"How long has this been here?" I asked, sitting down on a beanbag.

Nico got down and moved the chair backwards, so he could get at the next shelf. "Since my 'pops' moved here with Mama and us. Mama thought it was too modern, so she installed this room." He paused for a little while, absorbed in searching through the books, before speaking up again. "Don't you think it's funny and babyish that I say 'Mama'?"

I shook my head. "Not at all. It's sweet and affectionate."

He blushed. I smiled at him. "You really loved your mum, didn't you?"

He nodded, pulling out a few books and sitting down next to me. "I did. Can I tell you a story?"

"Of course, I'd love to hear," I encouraged.

He frowned. "Well, we moved to 'merica when I was six, so, eight years ago. Mama went over to Italy when I was ten to go to my great grand-mama's funeral, who I never knew. On the way back, the plane crashed at the airport because the landing gear wouldn't extend. We were waiting there to pick her up. When we heard her plane had crashed, we ran out onto the tarmac. The security was blocking it, but I managed to slip past them because I was so small. I made my way inside the wreckage, getting scraped and bruised, but I found out that there was only one death: Mama." By the end, he was sobbing.

I edged towards him and wrapped an arm around him. He buried his face in my sleeve, sobbing. "Shh, it's alright. Do you want to talk about it?"

He nodded. "I… I saw her. I wish I wasn't such a stupid, nosey little brat."

I shook my head. "You're perfect just the way you are. What are the books for?"

He picked it up and showed me the first page, which had black writing on it. 'This book belongs to Maria di Angelo. Hands off!' He chuckled. "Mama wrote these when she was little."

I smiled, tracing it. "You should write 'This book belongs to Nico di Angelo. Do not touch on pain of death glare!' That would scare off any sane person!"

He flicked me. "Oh, stop it, Solace." But he was smiling.

He curled up on the beanbag, covering himself in a fluffy grey throw. "Don't you think I'm creepy?"

"Not at all," I replied. "You're interesting. And just like me."

He sat up. "How?"

"My mother."

He curled back down. "Oh… I'm sorry, I didn't know."

I smiled, happy I had told someone. "It's fine. Would you mind if I told you?"

He shook his head. "Not at all."

"My mother died of Ovarian cancer last summer. She left my dad, so I only met her in her last year." I was crying too now. "I wish I could talk to her."

Nico knelt in front of me, holding me by my shoulders. "Will, don't cry. I don't like it when you cry."

Tears slid down my face. Nico wiped them away with his sleeve. "Please don't cry." He placed his forehead against mine, crying. I wiped away his tears.

"I'm alright. Don't worry, I'm alright, Nico."

He nodded, burying his face in my shoulder. I reached out for his chin, gently tracing his tough jawline, making myself shiver, before forcing his chin upwards, so he was looking up into my eyes. I put my forehead against his again. "Hey, Neeks, do you want me to read something to you?"  
He nodded. I began to study the higher shelves. I pulled out a golden-covered book, with 'Artemis Fowl' embellished on the front. When I opened it, I read 'Brought by Maria di Angelo for Nico di Angelo, age eight.' "Have you read… Artemis Fowl?"

Nico shook his head. "I'm just getting to that shelf."

I pulled it down. "It's about a 12-year-old Irish genius. He captures a… fairy?"

Nico pulled it off me and read the blurb. "Go on, that seems cool." He paused. "Wait."

He got up and got an A4 drawing pad from the table, along with several sharp pencils and a professional tin of coloured pencils. He sat down. "Go on."

"How does one describe Artemis Fowl?" I began. "Various psychiatrists have tried and failed. He bamboozles every test thrown at him. He has puzzled the greatest medical minds and sent many of them gibbering to their own hospitals…"  
When I looked up after the first chapter, I was truly shocked at the picture in front of my friend. It was of us. Our foreheads were pressed together and our eyes were open, his purple with golden flecks, mine a beautiful sky blue. His skin was deathly pale, mine was heavily tanned and freckled. Our eyelashes were wet and you could just see our shoulders, mine clad in my green hoodie, his in his black skull t-shirt. His long, thin fingers were gripping my shoulders and tears glinted on our cheeks.

He blushed when he saw me looking. "Oh, sorry. I…"

I nudged him. "Hush your mouth, Neeks. It's a beautiful drawing."

He smiled. "Thanks. It's not that good."

I traced a finger over his drawing. "I love it, Nico, so don't you dare say that. Do you want it?"

He nodded. "We keep frames in here. Let me get one." He got up and picked an A4 frame out of the drawer.

I gently ripped it out of the pad and placed it in the frame. It was then I noticed that there were many nails sticking out of the walls. He hung his picture on the wall. "Do you want to carry on reading?"

It had been about half an hour. I opened the book back up. "By now, you must have guessed just how far Artemis Fowl was prepared to go in order to achieve his goal…"

The next time I looked up, there was another beautiful drawing on the paper. There was already a similar picture on the wall. The picture on the wall was divided into six boxes. They were all zoomed-in pictures of people's eyes.

The first, in the top corner, was most likely Percy Jackson, for he had tanned skin and deep brown, almost black hair falling across the eyebrows. The eyes were a beautiful sea green. Below him was the next person, slightly paler, with curly blonde hair curling around the eyes as grey as a storm. Obviously Annabeth Chase.

The third, central at the top, had slightly tanned skin with bright blue eyes, a few lone strands of blonde hair falling over the eyes. Maybe Jason Grace? The fourth, below him, had deeply tanned skin, and dark brown hair falling over her eyes, forehead, and across her nose. The eyes were a golden-yellow, with a mint-green spot at the bottom. Piper McLean, definitely.

The next (in the top right) was an Asian person, with average white skin, a few brown hairs falling across the eyebrows, and deep, chocolate brown eyes. That one was obviously Frank. The last person had black skin, with brown hair, with caramel-coloured strands framing the face, with eyes like fourteen-karat gold. Hazel.

The one he was working on had only three boxes filled in: the entire top row. The top left was a Latino person, possibly Leo Valdez, with deep brown eyes and brown curls over his eyebrows and framing the face. Beside him was a pale Italian (Nico, no shit) boy, with black feathery hair over his eyebrows, long eyelashes, and purple eyes with beautiful golden flecks. The top right one was a girl with darkly tanned skin, with a few locks of dark brown hair falling across the thick features and deep chocolate brown eyes. He was currently drawing one in the bottom centre. Of me.

"That's absolutely amazing!" I exclaimed.

He turned _bright_ red. "Oh, erm… See, it's everyone in my little gang and their best friends. I obviously couldn't put anyone already on here, because… they're already on here."

I nodded. "So, it goes Jackson, Chase, Grace, McLean, Zhang, Levesque…" I turned to the one still on his pad. "Valdez, you - no shit, and… Reyna?"

Nico laughed. "R-A. Her name is Reyna-Avila Ramirez-Arellano."

I laughed. "Her initials are R-A R-A?"

Nico nodded. "Yeah… Oh… Thanks."

I cocked my head. "Why?"

"You… you comforted me. My… dad wouldn't even do that. So… thanks."

I blushed. "Likewise. Thanks. It's crazy to think how close we've got in... What? Two days?"

"Shut up," he chuckled. "It's a creepy thought."

"However, I'm detecting a suspiciously _couple-y_ setup..." I smirked suggestively.

He rolled his eyes and flushed. "Oh, be quiet."

He finished the drawing, putting it in another frame and hanging it up. "So, who should I put in the other two?"

"What about Callie? RED?" I suggested.

"What?" he asked.

I sighed, realising I had made exactly zero sense. "Callie for Leo. Rachel for Reyna."

There was a loud shriek from outside. "Nico!" Hazel shrieked.

Nico beckoned me outside and up the stairs to the bathroom. He held up a finger. "Do _not_ come in."

"What is it?" Nico asked as he closed the door.

"Some... photo..." Hazel replied, muffled.

They both screamed and I heard the window snapping back. "OW!"

I said the first thing that came to mind: "Are you both decent?"

"Yes!" Hazel shouted indignantly.

"What's up?" I asked, seeing Hazel's bright red face and the angry look in his eyes.

Nico took my hand and helped me onto the windowsill. "Look."

The pane was blurry, so I stooped to look through the window. All I saw was a suited man climbing into a black van. Then I realised who it was and I got a lump in my throat: Hermes.

"See that guy? He's taking photos. He's done it twice now."

I frowned, my stomach lurching. "That's dangerous. Have you told anyone?"

"No. Why?" Nico asked me, his hand over mine.

"I have my experience with dangerous men. Hermes Castellan being one of them."

Nico turned to me, a confused look on his face. "What's so bad about him?"

I mentally weighed what the consequences were of telling him and not telling him, knocking my head from side to side. Hazel cast me a sad look, before slipping out of the room, grey dress swishing around her ankles. I took a breath. "Well… he was in prison for six years. He got out four years ago."

Nico jerked. I opened the bathroom door, and we walked out, slowly walking back to his room. "And _how_ do you know this?"

I felt Luke's hand in mine, his sobs as he told me about his dad, his shocked expression as I told him, his hands on my shoulders as he pushed me down in a fit of rage.

"Luke and I used to be best friends," I began. The _used_ in the sentence hurt to say. "Then, I asked him out, and…" I held out my palm, punching it hard, to indicate that I got rejected. "That happened."

Nico winced, hurt in his eyes. "Ouch. When was that?" he asked, curious and caring.

"A year ago," I explained. "He was like an untouchable god to me, though. I would never have worked." I felt so good to get that off my chest.

I sat down on Nico's bed, opening my laptop, going back to editing my model of Catherine of Aragon and Mary I onto the video, making them spin to display their forms, while Nico's facts ran beneath them.

"Anything else?" Nico asked, his voice so quiet I barely heard it.

I nodded curtly. "I do know what happened. Can I tell you?"

Nico gave a little heart-breaking sigh. "Luke may have broken my friend's heart," he murmured. "But he deserves a second chance. I won't tell. Promise on the River Styx."

I whistled. That was _the highest_ promise you could say. "Oh-kay, then!" I exclaimed in shock. I took a breath, composed myself, and carried on. "So, when Luke was four… Hermes was a drug addict."

Nico's eyes widened in shock and he gave me a small nod. I began to talk again. "He must haven been particularly bad one day because he tried to get Luke to hang himself. When Luke was only four."

Nico took a sharp breath. "Well alright then!"

We worked in silence until the door slammed open. Nico winced alarmingly. Of course, _now_ I know why Nico winces around his extremely terrifying dad. "Dad," he muttered.

I gave him a concerned look. Nico shook his head and sighed. "Try to speak somewhat formally," he ordered.

He took my sleeve, dragging me downstairs into the lounge. Bianca was sitting at the end of the sofa, hands in her lap and face totally serious, Hades on her left, Hazel on his other side, who was politely listening to him moaning about an 'idiotic' man he had done a deal with at work. My father.

"Who's this idiot man?" Nico asked, an endearing smirk playing on his face.

His father sighed. "Apollo Solar."  
We both burst into quiet chuckles. Once we had zipped it, Hades said, "So, Nico, who's this young man?"

Hazel caught my eye, mouthing, 'He thinks you're Nico's boyfriend.'

"This is Will Solace," he introduced. "We're doing a history project together." He turned to Bianca. "None of the sarky comments," he warned.

She snickered and rolled her eyes. "Wouldn't dream of it, Neeks."

I suddenly realised what Hazel had meant. "Nico, what did you think of the bit of footage I did?"

Nico nodded enthusiastically. "Awesome. You need to show me how to do more animating!"

Apparently Bianca loves animating. Instantly, she asked what we were doing. I described the _entire_ thing to her. She got totally hooked when I began to talk about the newspaper effect on the programme, and how realistic it was. We still have crazily confusing conversations about editing.

"Hey, you can title the paper, right?" I asked Nico rhetorically.

Nico nodded. "Think so."

I continued. "We need to title it something. Can't just leave it blank."  
Frank spoke up, making both me and Nico jump. "You could do a mix of your names and stick 'history' on the end," Frank suggested.

"Solangelo," Bianca blurted.

"What?" I exclaimed, along with Hazel and Nico.

She rolled her eyes. (What is it with the di Angelo family and eye-rolling, seriously?!) "Sol-Angelo. Solace. Di Angelo."

Nico rolled his eyes and pulled a face. "I know _that_ , but it literally means 'un angel' and it sounds like a ship name."

We all laughed. Strangely excited by the prospect of it being a ship name, I sighed, "Eh, just use it."

Nico ruffled his own hair, grinning. "Yeah, sure, Solace."

Nico gave me the smile he only used on his family. I froze, before giving him a grin in return. Hazel raised a hand. "Hey, Neeks, can talk to you for a second.

"Don't we need to get back to the project?" he asked me.

I shook my head, knowing he wanted to get out of talking to Hazel. "We're fine. We've got 'til the middle of next week."

He shot me a 'fuck you' look and walked over to Hazel. I chatted with Bianca about editing, but my mind was on autopilot. I was watching Hazel's victorious smiles, Nico's shocked faces, Hazel's blushes, Nico's endearing grins, Hazel's squeals, Nico's evil smirk as he tickled her. Their conversation ended when she winked at him and walked off.

Bianca had asked me a question about King Henry VIII, so I was talking about Catherine Parr. "His last wife was Christina Parr…" I realised my mistake and used a very Kayla-style insult, using a mad and mild word together, as she would say. "Christina… you fucking _muppet_... It's actually _Catherine_ Parr…"

I couldn't hear myself speaking due to Nico's raucous laughter. "Fucking muppet?" he spluttered.

Hazel, who was curled up in Frank's lap, snickered out her next sentence. "Nico, you're the person that calls me a 'Gold Nugget' on a regular basis," she chuckled loudly.

I grinned. "Oh, it's not just his group he had incredibly strange names for?"

Nico flushed _bright_ red. Seriously, he looks so cute when he blushes! "Hazel _is_ in my group, but, I see your point."

Bianca flashed her perfect teeth. "Do tell."

Nico rolled his eyes, _again_. "Fine."

Hazel kissed Frank on the cheek, folding her arms. "Do tell."

"Percy is Seaweed Brain or Kelp Head, Annabeth is Wise Girl, Jason is Superman or Sparking Grace, Piper is Beauty Queen, Frank is," He took a _huge_ breath. "Chinese Canadian Baby Man, Hazel is Gold Digger or Gold Nugget, Leo is Repair Boy or Fire Boy, and Solace here is Sunshine."

I sighed, even though I adored the nickname and never wanted it to stop. Now, I can safely say that it _hasn't_ stopped yet, and Nico says that it never will. "I knew that would stick," I groaned, smiling fondly, before turning to Frank. Hazel ducked down so I could see his face, then she curled her legs into her beautiful, button-up dress. "Also, what the fuck did you do to stick that nickname?!"

He grinned, stroking Hazel's hair. "I'm Chinese-Canadian, and I used to have a _seriously_ stupid-looking baby-face." He turned back to Hazel and they began to talk again.

Hazel held a slim to Frank's mouth. "Wait a sec, Babe," she ordered, turning to me. "He calls you Sunshine?"

I grinned happily. Nico gave me his special smile and I melted inside. "Yeah, I like it. It's a pretty nice nickname."

Avoiding anything awkward, Nico nudged me and asked, "Shall we go and work on the project?"

I shook my head. "We've got the weekend and all of next week to do the audio for the video, then we can do the poster as well."

Bianca shook her head. "So, is the video or…"

I shook my head again. So, we had the option to do a poster, a PowerPoint, or a video, as we're doing. We decided to do the video, but we could do the poster for extra marks."

Bianca nodded.

Bi nodded. "Okay, after dinner, who's up for some Pixar?"

I cocked an eyebrow and looked at Nico. "It's a family tradition every Friday night," he told me, giving me that amazing smile.

I nodded, giving Nico a huge grin. "So, what's for dinner?"


	8. Computing - Nico

**Thank you clicking on this story!**

 **So, here's a little guide to the text messages:**

 **Nico: DeathAngel**

 **Reyna: Praetor Girl**

 **Bianca: BinnyArrow**

 **Thalia: PineConeFace**

 **Percy: SeaweedBrain**

 **Annabeth: WiseGirl**

 **Jason: SparkingGrace**

 **Piper: BeautyQueen**

 **Frank: ChineseCanadianBabyMan**

 **Hazel: GoldDigger**

 **Leo: RepairBoy**

 **Sorry about the really awkward line spacing in this chapter. I had a bit of Microsoft Word issue.**

 **WizardingWhovian: Ah, sorry, Sir, but you're going to have to wait** _ **quite**_ **a long time before that happens! For now, be content with Solangelo best friend cuddles! I like writing instantly close and adorable best friends, so, buckle up, it's going to be a** _ **long**_ **and bumpy ride.**

 **Enjoy!**

"Well, Castellan was being a total dick, as usual," Will stated simply.  
Thalia tossed a small pack of Pringles at us. "Elaborate, Will."  
"Well, Nico showed his picture to the class," he began.

"I painted Bianca, then I edited it to look like Mama," I sighed. "When I said it was Mama, Luke said, 'Cheat. Your mother's dead'. I said, 'Th… thank you for that, Luke. I know. My sister modelled for me and I altered her features according to photos.' Then… what did he say?"  
"Something about her being worthless," Will replied, squeezing my hand when he saw sadness in my eyes. "Which isn't true." I traced the words 'I'm alright' on the back of his hand.  
"I said how I painted it, then…"  
"He said, 'thank you, I know that.'" Will continued, tracing 'you sure?' on my hand. I replied with, 'sure', smiling at him and nodding.  
"I nearly ripped up the picture," I finished.  
And… Bianca almost crashed the car.  
"I had a fight with him. He insulted Nico and - don't laugh - called him my boyfriend. Luke knocked me down, then Nico when he tried to defend me. Nico knocked his feet from under him, and… Zoe, was it?"  
"Yeah," I nodded, tangling my hair in front of my face and breathing in the strong smell of my shampoo.  
"Zoe gave him a detention. He also got another for pulling my chair from underneath me in science."  
"So," Thalia ventured. "Zoe sorted it out?"  
"Yeah." We nodded.  
I saw Bianca smile in the rear-view mirror. "You two have made _exceedingly_ fast friends. It takes Nico bloody _ages_ to establish _any_ sort of friendship."  
I blushed. "I guess we have. We just… sorta… clicked."  
Thalia laughed. "Say what you want about him, Bi, but his face is always that colour!"  
We all laughed. "Wow!" I giggled, and it was _Will's_ turn to blush.  
"I guess we have," he grinned.

15 minute car ride. In Hazel and Frank's case, 15 minutes to make out…

oOo

When we got to my house, I instructed Will to take off his shoes on the scruffy grey doormat. We walked across the fluffy grey carpet into our absolutely dazzlingly clean kitchen. We sat down at the pristine _white_ bar (not a literal bar, just Google 'bar seats') and I watched as Will sat back on the black leather stool, trying not to slide off of the shiny material. Bianca got out a seven-dip thingy (seven-layer dip?) and we all dug in.

"Will, you've got guacamole on your nose," I chuckled. "Nope. Nope, nope…" I sighed as he poked at his face with his fabric napkin (rich parents - yay!), trying to get it off his nose. "Here, let me."  
I took it out of his hands, still warm from his clutch, and reached forward, swiping it off his nose. We both flushed bright red.  
Bianca laughed. "Yeah, you're right, Thals: his face is always that colour!"  
I smiled softly. "Shall we get started on the project?"

We went up to my room. Will pulled out his laptop and opened the video editing programme. After a while of finding facts and editing the video (we managed to make another minute or so of it), I spoke up. "C… can I have a go? Y'know… editing?"  
He grinned, patting the bed beside him. I perched beside him and he balanced the laptop between our knees. "It's touch screen, so no need to worry about the scroll pad."  
I nodded. "So, what are we going to do?" I asked.  
He tapped the screen lightly. "We're going to animate a page of the newspaper."  
We had a virtual newspaper (it was a VIP editing option) with all the facts in place of the writing, pictures we found online in place of the photos, and a huge blank space where we would put a title.  
"So, how do I animate it to turn over?" I questioned, my accent totally butchering the word 'animate'.

He ran a finger along the edge of the current page, bringing up a white long separated by dots. He told me to pick one of the 'turning' effect at the bottom the screen. I pointed at the second time, and our hands brushed. I blushed brilliantly. "Oh, erm, sorry."  
Will smiled. "Not a problem, di Angelo."  
He slowly guided me through the editing. I got frustrated and sad, but I managed to help him with 45 seconds of footage.  
"You did good, Neeks," he complimented.

I turned a stunning scarlet (and thesaurus . com is running out of ways for me to describe blushing! Good gods, why did I blush so much?!) and rubbed my rosy cheeks. Bianca called me that. Hazel called me that. Reyna called me that. And Mama called me that. Of course, Bi, Hazel, and Rey still call me that, but… reasons. Namely impact and repetition.

I shook it off. "Yeah, right." It was just an innocent nickname between friends, right? Well, incredibly fast friends that 'just… sorta… clicked…' according to me.  
"No, really, you did great! You picked it up faster than anyone!"  
His smile just made me melt. Even after everything that happened, it still does. "Thanks."  
He grinned like crazy. "No problem, Neeks!"  
My stomach flipped.

oOo

I was weighing whether or not to tell Will about my secret room. "Hey," I muttered eventually. "I have something to show you."

I lead him down to the under stairs 'book nook'. He was so excited he almost bashed his head on the low 'ceiling'. "Wow… this is amazing!" he shrieked.

I pulled out a chair and started to look for the Henry VIII books, mostly to hide my face. "I knew you'd like it."

"How long has this been here?" he asked.

I jumped down, nearly slipping on a throw as I checked the shelf behind it. "Since my 'pops' moved here with my Mama and us. Mama thought it was too modern, so she installed this room." I squinted to look at a scruffy book spine. "Don't you think it's funny and babyish that I say 'Mama'?" I asked, excepting a lot of laughter.

Of course, I was surprised to see Will shake his head. "Not at all. It's sweet and affectionate."

I let him really snatch away my heart, didn't I? My heart just melted when he said that. I turned bright red. He gave me that amazing smile. "You really loved your mum, didn't you?"

I pulled out the old books I had found and sat down on the huge beanbag beside Will. "I did. Can I tell you a story?"

He nodded enthusiastically, not knowing exactly how much I was going to open up to him. "Of course, I'd love to hear!"

I frowned, to concentrate on the moment I was retelling. Then, I opened up, my accent thick and my voice high and fluty. "Well, we moved to 'merica when I was six, so, eight years ago. Mama went over to Italy when I was ten to go to my great grand-mama's funeral, who I never knew," I began, taking a breath to hold in the sobs that were threatening to break from my throat. "On the way back, the plane crashed at the airport because the landing gear wouldn't extend. We were waiting there to pick her up. When we heard her plane had crashed, we ran out onto the tarmac. The security was blocking it, but I managed to slip past them because I was so small. I made my way inside the wreckage, getting scraped and bruised, but I found out that there was only one death: Mama." I was sobbing had now, tears pouring from my eyes and soaking my shirt.

Will's warm and comforting arm was around my shoulder in an instant. I felt him tense when I buried my face in his other sleeve. "Shh, it's alright," he chided. "Do you want to talk about it?"

I nodded, although I _never_ opened up to anyone. "I… I saw her," I whispered. "I wish I wasn't such a stupid, nosey little _brat_."

Will squeezed my arm. "You're perfect just the way you are. What are the books for?"

My heart leapt. He called me perfect. I shook the thoughts from my head and opened the first novel, showing him what Mama had written as a little girl. 'This book belongs to Maria di Angelo. Hands off!' "Mama wrote these when she was little," I explained.

Will smiled. "You should write 'This book belongs to Nico di Angelo. Do not touch on pain of death glare!' That would scare off any sane person."

I blushed, flicking him on the arm. "Oh, stop it, Solace," but my face broke into the hugest smile in the world. I curled down on the beanbag, hugging Mama's old throw to my face. "Don't you think I'm creepy?" I asked.

"Not at all. You're interesting. And just like me."

I sat up, touched, yet interested. "How?"

"My mother," he said, simply.

"It's fine," he insisted. "Would you mind if I told you?"

I shook my head, wanting him to open up. "Not at all."

"My mother died of Ovarian cancer last summer," he began. "She left my dad, so I only met her in her last year."

I couldn't bear to listen to his awful, heart-wrenching sobs. "I wish I could talk to her," he cried, kneeling on the floor.

I knelt in front of him, clutching his shoulders, digging in my nails. "Will, don't cry, I don't like it when you cry."

I wiped away the tears on his cheeks, crying too. "Please don't cry." I placed my forehead against his, just as Mama would do with me when I cried. He wiped my years away too, with his sleeves.

"I'm alright. Don't worry, I'm alright, Nico," he whispered at me.

I nodded, before giving in and burying my face in the shoulder of his hoodie. Will tugged my chin up, so I was staring into his eyes. "Hey, Neeks, do you want me to read something to you?"

I nodded. Will stood up and reached up to the highest shelves. "Have you read… Artemis Fowl?"

I shook my head slowly, counting up the shelves. "I'm just getting to that shelf."

Will sat beside me, studying the book. "It's about a 12-year-old Irish genius. He captures a… fairy?"

I forcefully yanked it off him and read the blurb. "Go on, that seems cool." I paused, getting an idea for a sketch. "Wait."

I grabbed a drawing pad, some pencils, and my art set. "Go on."

"How does one describe Artemis Fowl?" I began. "Various psychiatrists have tried and failed. He bamboozles every test thrown at him. He has puzzled the greatest medical minds and sent many of them gibbering to their own hospitals…"

I was distracted after a little while. I let my hand draw out a picture of me and Will with our heads together. I turned bright red when Will stopped the first chapter and saw my drawing. "Oh, sorry. I…"

He nudged me on the arm. "Hush your mouth, Neeks. It's a beautiful drawing."

I smiled, my stomach flipping. "Thanks. It's not that good."

Will traced a finger over the paper. "I love it, Nico, do don't you dare say that. Do you want it?"

I nodded. "We keep frames in here," I explained, getting up and walking over to the desk. "Let me get one." Will slipped the paper into the frame, before handing it over so I could hang it on the wall. "Do you want to carry on reading?" I asked.

Will opened the book. "By now, you must have guessed just how far Artemis Fowl was prepared to go in order to achieve his goal…"

I turned the pad back over to what I liked to call my 'eye drawings'. It was all of us, with a significant other below us. Percy and Annie, Jason and Piper, Frank and Hazel, Leo and no one, me and no one, and Reyna and no one. I had re done them several times, because of Percy's break-up with Rachel and Annabeth's break-up with Luke. I couldn't resist, so I started drawing Will below myself.

"That's absolutely amazing!" he exclaimed.

I flushed dramatically. "Oh, erm… See, it's everyone in my little gang and their best friends. I obviously couldn't put anyone already on here, because… they're already on here."

Will nodded, a smirk on his face. "So, it goes Jackson, Chase, Grace, McLean, Zhang, Levesque," he began, turning to the one I working on. Valdez, you – no shit, and… Reyna?"  
I laughed. Then again, her surname _is_ unpronounceable. "R-A. Her name is Reyna-Avila Ramirez-Arellano.

Will laughed. Reyna would've killed him if she had seen him. "Her initials are R-A R-A?"

"Yeah…" I stuttered. "Oh… Thanks."

"Why?" Will cocked his head.

I growled, low, in my throat. Did I _really_ have to explain it? "You… you comforted me. My… dad wouldn't even do that. So... thanks."

He flushed a brilliant red. "Likewise. It's crazy to think how close we've got in... What? Two days?"

It was true. I'd opened up to him more in a few days than I had to Percy in a year. "Shut up. It's a creepy thought.

He turned his attention back to the drawings. "However, I'm detecting a suspiciously _couple-y_ set up..." He gave me a cheeky smirk.

"Oh, be quiet," I sighed, contentedly.

I finished adding colour to the hair and hung it up in a frame. "So, who should I put in the other two?"

"What about Callie? RED?"

oOo

I heard a curse from outside. "Nico!" Hazel squeaked sharply. I headed into our startlingly clean bathroom, light bouncing off every surface and _right_ into my eyes. I'm not exaggerating, either. I'm surprised I haven't gone blind with the fourteen-going-on-fifteen years I've lived here.  
"What is it?"

She pointed out of the window. "Someone's taking photos. _Again_."  
Angry, I opened the window as wide as I could and the light of a camera flashed _right_ in our eyes. "OW!" we both exclaimed, almost falling from the windowsill.  
Will called out from outside the door. "Are you both decent?"  
"Yes!" Hazel shouted.  
Will came in. "What's up?"  
I helped him up onto the ledge. "Look."  
He tried to look through the window pane, but it was blurred to protect our modesty (I mean, _hello_? It's a _bathroom_?!), so he had to stoop slightly to get to my eye level.  
"See that guy? He's taking photos. He's done it twice now."  
Will frowned. "That's dangerous. Have you told anyone?"  
I shook my head. "No. Why?"  
"I have my experience with dangerous men. Hermes Castellan being one of them."  
I turned to Will, frowning. "What's so bad about him?"

He knocked his head from side to side, as if weighing to consequences of telling me and not telling me. "Well… he was in prison for six years. He got out four years ago."  
I jumped. "And _how_ do you know this?"  
Will shook his head slowly. "Luke and I used to be best friends. Then, I asked him out, and…" he made a 'splat' motion with his hand. "That happened."  
I winced. "Ouch. When was that?"  
"A year ago. He was like an untouchable god to me, though. It would never have worked."  
Hazel had slipped away, and we were walking slowly back to my room. We sat down on the bed and Will opened up his laptop, editing a 3D model of Catherine of Aragon and Mary I onto the video, making them spin around while facts ran beneath them.  
"Anything else?" I asked quietly.  
"I do know what happened. Can I tell you?"  
I sighed quietly. "Luke may have broken my friend's heart, but he deserves a second chance. I won't tell. Promise on the river Styx."  
Will whistled, surprised at the height of my promise. "Oh-kay, then! So, when Luke was four… Hermes was a drug addict."  
My eyes widened and I nodded. "He must have been particularly bad one day, because he tried to get Luke to hang himself. When Luke was only four."  
I breathed in sharply. "Well alright then!"

We worked in silence for a while, until I heard the door bang open. I winced. "Dad."  
He looked at me, concerned. I sighed. "Try to speak somewhat formally."  
We headed downstairs and into the lounge, where Dad was talking to Hazel about this idiot man he had made a deal with earlier. She was nodding seriously, trying desperately hard to keep a straight face.  
"Who's this idiot man?" I asked, smirking.  
"Apollo Solar," he sighed.  
And Will and I exploded into laughter. When we had calmed down, Dad said, "So, Nico, who's this young man?"  
I rolled my eyes. "This is Will Solace. We're doing a history project together." I shot Bianca a look. "None of the sarky comments."  
She snickered. "Wouldn't dream of it, Neeks."  
Will shot me a look of realisation. "Nico, what did you think of the bit of footage I did?"  
I nodded. "Awesome. You need to show me how to do more animating."

I shouldn't have said that word. Bianca loved animating. Bianca sat forward, asking what animating we were doing. We ended up describing the whole thing to her. When we got to the newspaper bit, she was hooked.  
"Hey," Will said. "You can title the paper, right?"  
I nodded. "Think so."  
"We need to title it something. Can't just leave it blank."  
"You could do a mix of your names and stick 'history' on the end," Frank suggested.  
I jumped. Damn that quiet guy! I forgot he was there!

We exchanged ideas for a while, until Bianca blurted, "Solangelo."  
"What?" The three of us asked.  
She rolled her eyes. "Sol-Angelo. Solace. Di Angelo."  
I pulled a face. "I know _that_ , but it literally means 'sun angel' and it sounds like a ship name."  
We chuckled. "Eh, just use it," Will smiled.  
I ruffled my hair. "Yeah, sure, Solace."

I gave him a smile, and Will froze for a second, then smiled back. Hazel beckoned me over. "Hey, Neeks, can I talk to you for a second?"  
"Don't we need to get back to the project?" I asked, but Will shook his head.

"We're fine. We've got 'til the middle of next week," he replied.  
I shook my head and went over to Hazel, while Will and Reyna chatted to each other.

"So," I asked in low tones. "What is it you need?"

She sighed. "You know your smile? The one you only do to me, Bi, Reyna, and Mama, when she was around?"

I nodded, not seeing where she was going. "Yeah… The smile I give to our little 'gang' _is_ my genuine happy smile, but the one I give to family is… special."

She took my hand, leaning against the arm of the armchair. "I know that, Nico. Your other smile _is_ genuine, but the 'family' one is special. We said this before."

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, I know."

"So, why do you give that smile to Will?" she deadpanned.

I jumped. "I do?"

She laughed and everyone in the room turned to look. I shoved my hand over her mouth, using my long, thin fingers to get her ticklish spot behind her ears. She squeaked quietly. "I give in," she panted.

I smirked. "Now, spill."

"You do that smile to Will. Why?"

I shrugged. "It feels… right. I'm comfortable with doing it."

She sighed, but she gave me a soft smile and squeezed my hand. "Good luck, Nico. Take it slow. _I_ should know, after all," she smirked primly, winking at me.

I sat back down beside Will, who was still talking to Bianca. "His last wife was Christina Parr… Christina… you fucking muppet... It's actually Catherine Parr…"

I was laughing so hard I didn't actually hear the fact that came after it. "Fucking muppet?!" I spluttered.

"Nico, you're the person that calls me a 'Golden Nugget' on a regular basis," Hazel chuckled.

"Oh, it's not just his group he has incredibly strange names for?" Will asked.

I blushed. "Hazel _is_ in my group, but, I see your point."

Bianca grinned. "Do tell."

I rolled my eyes. "Fine."

Hazel folded her arms. "We're waiting."

"Percy is Seaweed Brain or Kelp Head, Annabeth is Wise Girl, Jason is Superman or Sparking Grace, Piper is Beauty Queen, Frank is," I took a big breath. "Chinese Canadian Baby Man, Hazel is Gold Digger or Gold Nugget, Leo is Repair Boy or Fire Boy, and Solace here is Sunshine."

"I knew that would stick," he sighed, turning to Frank. "Also, what the fuck did you do to stick that nickname?!"

"I'm Chinese-Canadian, and I used to have a _seriously_ stupid-looking baby-face," Frank sighed, going back to talking to Hazel.

Hazel put a hand to his mouth. "Wait a sec, Babe. He calls you Sunshine?"

Will grinned. "Yeah. I like it. It's a pretty nice nickname."

"Shall we go work on the project?" I asked.

"We've got the weekend and all of next week to do the audio for the video, then we can do the poster as well."

Bi looked really confused. "So, is the video or…"

Will gave a small sigh. "So, we had the option to do a poster, a PowerPoint, or a video, as we're doing. We decided to do the video, but we could do the poster for extra marks."

Bi nodded. "Okay, after dinner, who's up for some Pixar?"

Will looked at me. "It's a family tradition every Friday night," I explained.

He nodded. "So, what's for dinner?"


	9. McDonalds and Making-Out - Will

p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Thank you clicking on this story!/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"So, here's a little guide to the text messages:/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Thanks so much for all the reviews! Seriously, thanks a whole lot! You're all so kind and motivating!/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Sorry that Luke and Octavian are extremely OCC, but I wanted to add it in anyway! The reason Rachel and Octavian are adopted siblings is because I didn't want him to live with Will and his family, and their both the 'Oracles' of their camps. I don't have time to look up the Roman term./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Enjoy!/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Nico rolled his eyes. "Solace, you dork."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"We grinned at each other for a few seconds, until Hazel piped up. "How 'bout we go down to McDonalds?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Nico's face lit up adorably. "Yes!"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I laughed. "Now, /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"that/spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" was cute," I commented./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Nico turned a stunning scarlet. "Oh, shut up, Solace. Thanks, though."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Hazel laughed. "Let me put on something warmer."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Hades handed Nico some notes. "Here, son."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Nico flinched at the contact with his father, yet he gave him a smile. He pocketed the cash, before slipping his hand into mine, sighing. "Thanks, dad. Are you going out to eat with Persephone when she comes back from work?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Persephone is Nico's step-mum. She's really nice, but she works 10 to 6, so I never saw her in the first few days./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Yes, I am, Nico," he replied./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Hazel whispered something in Frank's ear and cocked her head, then he nodded and smiled. She smiled dangerously. "So, the three things that make Nico light up: sword fighting, McDonalds, and Will Solace."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He blushed. "Oh, shush, Hazel. It's true, but, shush."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I laughed, turning bright red, as did Nico. She giggled and ran upstairs. Nico tugged my arm and we went into the 'book nook'./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"oOo/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He sat down on a beanbag and I sat beside him. He touched my hand. "Look, I…" he began, before trailing off./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I smiled at him. "What is it, Nico?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He sighed. "What Hazel said about you making me light up… It's true. You understand me better than anyone. If anyone teases me about being your friend, or vice versa, I don't care. Alright?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I touched my forehead to his again. "Why would I forget? You might just be my best friend."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He chuckled awkwardly. "You might just be /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"my/spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" best friend, too."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"We smiled at each other, taking in each other's eyes,until Hazel called out to us, "Nico, Will, where are you?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"We jerked away from each other. Nico hissed, "Pretend we're tidying up," at me, then he started folding up the throws and tossing them over beanbags. I began puffing up the beanbags and arranging the pillows, straightening the throws, and generally making it look homely./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""We're just tidying up in here!" Nico lied, smiling at me./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He tugged on my hand and pulled me out of the room./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"oOo/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"When we got to McDonalds, Nico stood on his toes to whisper in my ear. "Thanks for understanding me. You're a great friend."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I ruffled his hair as a joke. "Likewise, Nico. Thanks."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He stuck his little pink tongue out at me. I really wanted to see what it felt like and… /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"'Fuck it, Solace! You don't get feelings for your new and best friend!'/spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" I chided myself./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"We walked up to the register. "Hello, welcome to McDonalds! What can I get you?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Hazel?" Nico asked, a hand on her shoulder./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The young girl at the cash register furrowed her brow. "Are you two siblings? Half-siblings?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"They looked excited and incredibly relieved. "FINALLY!" they cried together. "/spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Someone/spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" sees the resemblance!"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I cocked a brow. "What?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Nico sighed. "Oh, we always get mistaken for a couple when we go out together."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I grinned. "Plausible."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He punched my shoulder fondly. "Oh, shut up, Solace."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The girl at the register smiled cheekily. "So, are /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"you/spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" two a couple?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"We looked at each other, raised our eyebrows. I was flushed pink, he was flushed bright red. Hazel rolled her eyes. "No, sadly, they're not a couple… /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Yet/spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Nico slapped her. "Oh, shut up. No, we're just best friends. You lot order, 'cause I'm gonna go find a table. C'mon, Will."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"We walked off together. Nico sat down on one of the taller tables, and I sat beside him. He rolled his eyes. "I swear Solangelo /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"is/spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" a ship name."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I laughed. "True. I can't believe you actually said 'best friend' in public."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""It's true," he shrugged./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"We laughed. Nico rolled his eyes. "We're both utter goofs."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""You got that right," I chuckled./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Then, a girl walked out of the employee door. She was wearing a white backpack with a coloured butterfly pattern. She was wearing a shiny white jumper and blue skinny jeans./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Nico gave me /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"that/spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" smile, before slipping on his genuine, friendly smile and waving at the girl. "Pipes!"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Piper weaved her way over. "Hey, guys!"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Hey, Pipes," Nico greeted, his easygoing smile on his face./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Hi, Piper."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Nico rolled his eyes and looked at me, giving me 'that' smile, the special family one, before turning back to Piper. "Hey, who's the girl at the third register to the right?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Piper turned to check. "Lacy, why?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""She thought we were a couple," I sighed./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Piper chuckled. "You are, aren't you?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Oh, shut up," Nico chuckled./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"oOo/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Nico cast a slightly scared look towards the entrance. He turned to me, giving me 'that' smile, before simply stating, "Shit."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Ah, Luke and Octavian. "Uhhh," I groaned. "AH!"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Piper gave us both confused looks. "What that…"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I moaned quietly. "Never mind. I don't have the best history with him is a…"/spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"br /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Luke cut me off. "Hey, Solace," he sneered./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I didn't even bother turning around to face him. "Luke, please, fuck off."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""What, too embarrassed in front of your…"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Shut up!" I exclaimed. He was /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"not/spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" about to reveal that to the /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"entire/spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" place!/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Nico slid his cool hand into mine. "Don't listen. He won't get the satisfaction of you don't react," he whispered, circling his thumb on the back of my hand soothingly. I felt all my anger dissipate in a flash./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I nodded numbly. "Luke, go away."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Octavian tugged on his sleeve anxiously. "Luke, c'mon. C'mon…"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I stifled a giggle. Was his muffled last word /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"babe/spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"? The /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"hell/spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"! At the time, it seemed too ridiculous to be true, but, now, it's perfectly sane. Luke gave Octavian this weirdly genuine smile and followed him over to the queue. Then it clicked./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Oh…" Nico started./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""…No…" I continued./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""…Way!" we finished together./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I pulled a face. "No, they are not…"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Nico was sucking in his lips, trying not to burst out laughing. Hazel came over with Bianca and Frank, her tray piled high with food, Frank balancing about fifty of those little ketchup pots on his arms. "Got the fo-ood!" she trilled, dumping it on the table./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Nico cast me his special smile again, making me melt inside. "Great!"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"oOo/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Two girls were bustling over to our table. "Hey!" the dark-haired one chirped./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Nico's eyes lit up. "Hey, Reyna!"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I raised a hand. "Rache!"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"She rolled her eyes. "Reyna /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"in-sis-ted/spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" that we eat here. Honestly, the unhealthiest place on earth?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I nodded appreciatively. "Glad we're on the same page."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Nico turned to me, eyes wide in mock offense. "You hate McDonalds?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I'm practically a doctor," I shrugged. "How could I not hate it?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Nico shrugged too. "I don't know, really… It's just that you didn't object."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I saw Reyna and Rachel give each other knowing smiles. I tried to think of a way to put my next sentence. "Well, you seemed to like it so, I decided to put up with it."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Oh, erm…" Nico stuttered, blushing. "Thanks."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Rachel was gazing around the restaurant, when she nudged Reyna and nodded towards a group of giggling girls that looked about twelve. They proceeded to talk about what they reckoned the girls were like. I was glad Rachel had found someone that shared her unusual habit: People Guessing. Then, Rachel spotted her adopted brother. "Well," she stated simply. "Looks like they got back together."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I almost coughed up my mouthful of Big Mac when I cast a look over to where Octavian and Luke were kissing… sorry, sitting. Yeah, that /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"wasn't /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"something I wanted to see. I poked my best friend/crush in the arm, pointing with a French Fry to the two of them. Nico gave me /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"that/spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" smile, along with a slightly confused raised eyebrow./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""O-oh… shit," Nico murmured, shoving his empty food packaging onto the tray when he turned to the kissing couple. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Gods/spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;", does he eat quickly./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""No-o-o way," I sighed heavily. "/spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"That/spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" is /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"not/spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" happening."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Nico giggled sweetly and my insides melted. "Oh, it is, Sunshine." The nickname made my stomach flip./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I leant into his ear, wanting to tell him how adorable I thought his smile was. "Your 'special smile' is the best thing I can see," I whispered./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He flushed a stunning scarlet and buried his face in his sleeves. "Wi-ill! he exclaimed, adorably./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""What?" I whispered playfully, now I had his attention. "I'm not allowed to love someone's smile?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He turned even redder. "St-st-stop it, Solace!" he stuttered, utterly mortified with embarrassment./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I laughed. "I'm just messin' with ya, Neeks. Your smile is sweet, though."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Despite that, he just nudged me. "You're terrible like that, Sunshine. Thanks, though."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" We laughed together. I glanced over to Octavian and Luke. Luke was talking exasperatingly, making wild gestures. Octavian seemed to be listening and offering advice, but, when Luke got too worked up, Octavian shut him up with a kiss. I covered my eyes. Then, they kept sneaking looks at us. Octavian shook his head several times, making crazy gestures and folding his arms. Luke pointed directly at Reyna and Octavian reluctantly got up./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Hey, Reyna," he piped her, making her jump./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" "/spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Octavian/spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"?" she exclaimed, shocked./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" "Look, I'm sorry about your arm. I honestly don't know what came over me."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Reyna grimaced slightly. "I... I forgive you."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" He smiled genuinely. "Thank you!"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" He turned to Nico. Nico winced slightly, so I nudged him and gave him an encouraging smile. He gave me /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"that/spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" smile in return, turning back to Octavian. "Nico, I'm sorry about threatening you in history. And Luke's sorry about insulting your mum. He really didn't mean it."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" Nico cocked an eyebrow and smiled a little. "I forgive you, Octavian. Tell Luke I forgive him, too."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" He grinned happily. "Luke and I had the most gigantic argument on Wednesday and we didn't speak, so... Well, that's why we were both pissed."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Nico looked at me, gripping my hand hard. "Alright… I'm sorry, but… I don't know how to react…"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Octavian smirked. "Feeling's mutual, Nico." His phone rang and all the colour drained from his face when he saw the caller. "Fuck."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""H… hey, Dad…" he stuttered. "No, I… Who said? I know, but… Rachel! Why aren't you mad at her?! That's sexist! I… Please! No! If you… I swear to…" He stared at the dead phone, then at Rachel. "Dad found out. He heard it from someone who has a kid at our school who told him."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Rachel threw her blue hairbrush at him. I reached for her hand, but she turned and hissed at me, like a snake. We've never been to closest duo in our group, but I still wanted to help her. "You /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"moron/spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"!" she hissed. "You used /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"me/spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" as a defence and now dad won't let /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"either/spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" of us into the house!"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Octavian's eyes flickered with that familiar anger. "What would you do, Rachel?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"She reached out for his wrist, and I had to horrible feeling that my friend was about to judo-flip her brother in front of all those people, but she stopped, her hand dropping. I turned my gaze to Reyna, who's hand was on Rachel's shoulder. Rachel's eyes lit up. "I'm sorry. What are we going to do?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He took her hand and pulled her towards the doors. "Sorry, but we need to go somewhere /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"else/spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" to talk."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"oOo/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Everyone on the table sat in a shocked silence for a few seconds, until Luke turned up at the table. "What in Hades just happened?" he asked./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Nico dug his nails into my hand even harder. "Well… I assume it was you that forced Octavian to apologise?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""What do you…" he began, futilely, as Nico cut him off./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Will and I both saw what you two were doing over there. This lot are so painfully oblivious they won't know what I mean, so, no need to worry about that."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Luke shook his head slowly, grinning ruefully. "Good call, di Angelo, good call. So, what happened?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Octavian apologised, then he got a call from his dad, I think, then he said his dad found out about something-or-other, Rachel yelled at him for using her as defence, saying that her dad wouldn't let either of them into the house, then she apologised, and they went somewhere else to talk."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Luke groaned. "Oh, noooooo. Seriously?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He looked Nico right in the eyes. Still incredibly scared, Nico edged a little closer to me and he gripped my hand tighter. I rubbed my thumb in soothing circles on the back of his hand to comfort him. Luke then smiled softly. "Thanks. Tip: don't try to contact Rachel until tomorrow morning."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I smirked. Staying quiet for that long wasn't my style, so I spoke up. "I think I know that, Castellan."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Nico wriggled his fingers on my palm in a futile attempt to tickle me. "Thanks. Are we even?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Luke nodded. "Even."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Nico nodded. "Even."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Nico and Luke connected hands, sealing a truce within it./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"oOo/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Hey, Nico," I said as we walked back to his house, startling him slightly./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Yeah, Solace?" he asked./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I pulled my sleeve down and rumpled up the extra fabric in my fist. "Do you want to come over to mine tomorrow? We need to do the Catherine Parr bit of the video and we've got the poster to do."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Nico nodded, giving me his special smile. "I'd love to. What time?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""It's about a…" I've never been at the top of my grade at maths, and being next to someone that makes my heart flip didn't help. "Hour and a half for a walk, so, that's out of the question. Maybe the bus?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Nico nodded again, fumbling to find my hand in the dark. When he found it, he squeezed it tight. I have no idea when we started holding each other's hands at every opportunity presented to us, but Nico says that it's because we have a 'soulmate connection'. Yes, he /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"can/spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" be a sappy romantic when he wants to. Not that I'm complaining. "Sounds great. I'm /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"not/spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" a morning person /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"at all/spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;". I'll wake up early /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"for you,/spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"" he teased. "So, maybe… eleven? When I get to yours, I mean. The ride's about forty-five minutes, so I'll wake up at ten."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I chuckled. "Aww, Nico di Angelo can't get enough of me!" I teased./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Nico gave me a playful shove. "Hush your mouth, Solace."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"We quickly found each other's hands and squeezed the other's fingers tight. Then I got a phone call. I blushed /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"bright/spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" red when the lines 'There goes a fighter…. There goes a fighter… This one's a fighter…' from 'The Fighter' blared from my phone. I quickly answered the call, to save myself the painful embarrassment./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Hey, Will!" Lee chirped./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Hey, Lee," I replied, reluctantly slipping from Nico's grasp so I could put the phone beside my better ear./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Nico bobbed up on my other side, taking my other hand. This time, /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I/spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" rolled my eyes. "So, do you need a lift? Aren't you at your new /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"boyfriend's/spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" house?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Dear Hades, Lee!" I exclaimed. "For the last time: /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"he's not my boyfriend/spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"!"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Nico looked upset. Of course, now I know why. "Whatever, Sunny. I heard you say he calls you 'Sunshine'?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Since when did you snoop on my phone calls to Cecile?!" I retorted./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Since you got obsessed with a certain gay Nico di Angelo," he chuckled./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I flushed bright red and Nico let out a tiny adorable giggle. "Oh, be quiet, Lee. It's true, but be quiet."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He yelled so loud I jerked the phone away from my ear. "He admitted it! Kayla, you owe me five bucks!" Lee shouted./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Wait, who's in the car?" I asked./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Kayla and Michael, who's driving."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Yeah, I do need a lift. How far away are you?" I replied./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He chuckled. "You admitted that you like him."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Yeah, I did," I replied, bemused. "It's 100% true."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I heard a scuffle and a shriek from the other end. "Hey."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I sighed with relief. "Kayla! Finally, someone sane!"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"She giggled. "I know you like him, Will, but I won't pressure you. It's cool that you like guys. I've never approved it before, but, there you go. You admitted it, sure, but it's your choice of how you go with it. I can't wait until you kiss."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I turned bright red. "Thanks, Kay."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""So, you need a lift. What's the address?" she asked./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Address?" I asked Nico, who was still clutching my hand lightly./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He held my hand even tighter. "It's 13 Tartarus Road, Sunshine."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I snorted lightly. "Tartarus? As in the death pit of the Underworld?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He squeezed my hand. "Oh, be quiet, Sunshine."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"We both say that a lot./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Hello, Sunny? Y'there?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Sorry, just asking Nico," I replied. "It's 13 Tartarus Road."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Did I hear him calling you Sunshine?" she asked./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Yes, you did," I replied./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"She giggled quietly. "You clearly have your love under control, so, I won't intervene. Do you think it's seriously cute?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""You're asking that so I don't have to embarrass myself by saying the whole thing, aren't you?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I heard her hair rubbing against the leather seat as she nodded. "Yes, I am. You've ruined it now."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Be quiet. The answer is yes, though. Absolutely. 100%."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"She squealed quietly. "We'll pick you up in five minutes."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Cool. Bye!"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Bye!" she chirped, calling off./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Nico tapped me with his free hand. "Who was that?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""First it was Lee, but he was teasing me and not letting me get to the point. Kayla wrestled the phone off him. She was teasing me a little too. That's what the 'you admitted it' thing came from."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He nodded, wordlessly, tightening his grip./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"oOo/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Bye, Sunshine," Nico grinned, closing the door./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Bye, Angel," I replied, rushing towards the car./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Kayla cuddled close to me, and I couldn't help but wish that it was Nico in her place. I shook the thoughts from my head. "Hey, Kay-Kay."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"She giggled. "Hey, Sunny."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"We stayed silent for a little while, until she tapped the back of my hand. "Why are their marks on your hand?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I ruffled my babyish little sister's green hair. "What? Oh, the nail marks."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Why?" she asked again./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I bent down to her ear. "They're from Nico gripping my hand."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"She giggled quietly. "I won't intervene, Sunny. That's adora-bubbles, though."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I ruffled her hair. "Be quiet, Kay. Thanks, though."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"oOo/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"DeathAngel: Hey, Sunshine/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"SolaceShine: Hey, Angel. What is it?/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"DeathAngel: Yay, another perfect texter! XD/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"SolaceShine: What, I hate improper grammar! At least I'm not the only one. LOL/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"DeathAngel: Rich, Solace, real rich. Fast typer, too./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"SolaceShine: Touché, Angel. Right back at you. ;-p/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"DeathAngel: I'll assume the 'touché' was autocorrect and you didn't actually put the accent on./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"SolaceShine: It was. So, what do you want?/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"DeathAngel: What, I can't just text my best friend?/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"SolaceShine: You're getting WAY too much pleasure from saying that, aren't you?/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"DeathAngel: I've never officially had a best friend before, per-se, so I like saying it./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"SolaceShine: Alright then! Are you bored or something?/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"DeathAngel: Yeah. Done all my homework at lunch today, expect from one piece I just did. Hazel and Frank and making out in the next room./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"SolaceShine: WAY too much detail! I don't care, to be honest./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"DeathAngel: They're making out way too loudly at that./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"SolaceShine: LOL/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"DeathAngel: Got anything for me to do?/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"SolaceShine: Me? XD/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"DeathAngel: OMG WILL! You have a dirty mind! Then again, so do I./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"SolaceShine: Sorry. I couldn't resist. LOL. We're both dirty-minded./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"DeathAngel: Pretty much, yeah./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"SolaceShine: Oh, I've been meaning to ask if you're free next Wednesday after school?/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"DeathAngel: Yeah, why?/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"SolaceShine: We've got two 'teacher training' days at the next of next week so we obviously don't have to go to school…/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"DeathAngel: Your point is…/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"SolaceShine: I'm having a sleepover with Cecile and Lou. Do you want to come?/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"SolaceShine: That was stupid. Telling you who's coming before asking you. Derp. ;-p/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"DeathAngel: I'd love to! Wait, your dad didn't flip because you're inviting a girl?!/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"SolaceShine: My dad doesn't care. After all, no one's going to get naked with everyone else watching, are they?/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"DeathAngel: LOL!/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"SolaceShine: Do you want to invite someone along?/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"DeathAngel: …That was unexpected. Let me have a think./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"SolaceShine: Sorry./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"DeathAngel: No problem. What about Piper? She knows Lou Ellen quite well./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"SolaceShine: Sure! I'll tell Dad. Wait a second./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I ran downstairs and into the lounge, where Dad, Michael, Lee, and Kayla were. Vicky and Austin were gods know where. "Hey, Sunny," she grinned. "Been talking to your /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Angel/spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I bit my lip, chewing it nervously. "Kayla, shut up." I cast a weary look towards my overly romantic Dad./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Oh, is this the same young man that calls Will 'Sunshine'?" Dad asked./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I yanked up a pillow and threw it at Kayla. "/spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Kayla/spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;", why do you have to tell Dad /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"everything/spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"She pulled me down by the neck of my t-shirt. "I didn't tell Dad that you like him, Sunny. I said I thought Nico was quite dark and evil-y, so I was happy that you make him open up," she hissed./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Thanks, Kayla. You're the best," I smiled, throwing my arms around her./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"She wriggled out from my grasp, eww-ing in mock disgust. "Oh, Wi-i-ll!"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I kissed her on her nose. She pushed me away as a joke. "Thanks right back, Sunny."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Dad smiled at me. "Sorry, Will. I apologise. So, have you decided who else is coming to your sleepover?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Nico, the guy Kayla was talking about," I replied decisively, shooting my best death glare at her., which I was still learning off Nico. "Also, Piper McLean. Nico and Lou Ellen introduced me to her and we've become quite good friends," I lied a little./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I'm alright at doing Nico's death glare nowadays, after him giving me lessons, sweets, and a /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"whole/spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" lot of strawberry-flavoured kisses. Bliss./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Alright," Dad replied. "Are their parents alright with it?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Nico's dad and step-mum are okay, and Piper is yet to tell her dad," I told him, before leaving and running upstairs./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"SolaceShine: Dad's cool, Angel/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"DeathAngel: When did that nickname start?/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"SolaceShine: When I realised that 'Angelo' translates to 'Angel'/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"DeathAngel: Sweet of you for noticing. I'm glad I can come. What are we doing?/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"SolaceShine: Well, Truth or Dare and a bunch of other stuff. You'll never guess what!/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"DeathAngel: What? I guessed what?/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"SolaceShine: You're annoying. You're lucky you're so cute./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"DeathAngel: ?/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"SolaceShine: Sorry. In a goth/emo way./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"DeathAngel: You're lucky YOU'RE so cute, Solace. Otherwise you'd be dead by now. So, what is it?/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"SolaceShine: Beforehand Percy Jackson's having a little get-together at his mum's flat. I assumed you were invited so we're going back to mine after that. Were you invited?/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"DeathAngel: Yeah. Oops, had his chat on silent 'cause he was spamming me. LOL!/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"SolaceShine: #smh. Gotta go. We have this stupid family tradition where we play board games every night. Wish me luck in Monopoly!/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"DeathAngel: Good luck! /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"That's /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"for hours of your life you'll never get back. LOL. By the way, do you like your brother?/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"SolaceShine: Typical sibling stuff, but, otherwise, yeah./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"DeathAngel: From what you said, he sounds like the typical older brother TWAZZOK!/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"SolaceShine: Nice insult. Don't worry, I won't tell him./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"DeathAngel: You'd better not. Good luck. Bye!/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"SolaceShine: Bye!/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I suck at Monopoly. They /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"all/spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" targeted me as a joke, but, due to a few bad die rolls, I went bankrupt in 15 minutes. The game was to go on until nine, so being whacked out at 8:00 was pretty off-putting. I only just picked up my phone, when a message popped through from Nico./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"DeathAngel: OMG, Will, I'm SO sorry! I completely forget that I have to go my weekly stint down to the graveyard!/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"SolaceShine: Hey! Everyone targeted me and I went bankrupt straight away. We've only been playing for 15 minutes!/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"DeathAngel: I do a little trip down to the graveyard at 3 every week. I usually take the bus down your way and go to the graveyard near you. I might not be able to come/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"SolaceShine: Remember, you'll already be at my house, and it's only a ten minute walk. You can go on your own or I could come with you./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"DeathAngel: Really?/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"SolaceShine: I won't stop you./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"DeathAngel: No, you'll come with me?/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"SolaceShine: Of course! If you want me to, that is./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"DeathAngel: Thanks so much!/spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"br /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"br /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"SolaceShine: No problem./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"DeathAngel: No, seriously, thanks so much/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"SolaceShine: Gotta go help Austin. Vicky owns half the board and she's just laughing and watching as we DIE/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"DeathAngel: I like her/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"SolaceShine: LOL. Bye/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"DeathAngel: Bye/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Suddenly, being knocked out of the game right away didn't seem such a bad thing after all./span/p 


	10. McDonalds and Making-Out - Nico

I could _not_ believe Solace had asked that! I just rolled my eyes. "Solace, you dork."

I cast him my _special_ grin, and my world was his for a few seconds, until Hazel broke our bubble. "How 'bout we go down to McDonalds?"

McDonalds! I _love_ McDonalds! Will says I am _cra-zy_ for liking something so unhealthy ("Nico, we are _not_ going there _again_. Doctors Orders!"), but, I don't give two hoots. "Yes!" I squeaked, my face apparently 'lighting up'.

Will laughed loudly. "Now, _that_ was cute."

' _Okay, Will Solace just called me cute,'_ I thought. ' _What the Hades is going on?'_

"Oh, shut up, Solace. Thanks, though," I replied, turning bright red.

"Let me put on something warmer, "Hazel laughed, not actually moving from her place on Frank's lap.

Dad shoved some notes into my hands. "Here, son."

I flinched at the contact with my father. I shoved the money in my pocket, before slipping my cold hand into my best friend's warm grasp. "Thanks, dad. Are you going to eat with Persephone when she comes back from work?"

Hazel put her mouth to Frank ear, then she made a questioning face. He nodded eagerly. She gave me an evil smirk and my stomach clenched in fear. "So, three things that name Nico light up: sword fighting, McDonalds, and Will Solace."

I turned bright red. It was truly true, but I disliked that fact she knew. "Oh, shush, Hazel. It's true, but, shush."

We both turned red, but I was more embarrassed than he was, as I think. Hazel ran upstairs before I could chase her. Suddenly, I got the most irresistible urge to tell Will something, so I pulled him into the 'book nook'.

I sat down heavily on a beanbag. I brushed my hand against Will's. "Look, I…" I trailed off, feeling like an idiot.

He gave me an encouraging smile. "What is it, Nico?" he asked.

I gave a defeated sigh. "What Hazel said about you making me light up… It's true. You understand me better than anyone. If anyone teases me about being your friend, or vice versa, I don't care. Alright?"

There was so much more I wanted to say, and, in comparison, what I said sounded pathetic. Yet, he touched his forehead to mine again, and my insides melted. "Why would I forget?" he grinned. "You might just be my best friend."

I chuckled, touched by his words. "Why might just be _my_ best friend, too."

I jumped when I heard Hazel's voice. "Nico, Will, where are you?"

In a moment of panic, I reeled away from him and stood up. "Pretend we're tidying up!" I whispered, starting to tidy.

"We're just tidying up in here!" I lied smoothly, giving my smile to Will. I took his sleeve and pulled him out of the room.

We walked around the corner to McDonalds. As we walked into the warmth, I stood on my toes to whisper into Will's ear. "Thanks for understanding me. You're a great friend."

He ruffled my hair, just like Mama used to. "Likewise, Nico," he replied. "Thanks."

I stuck my tongue out at him, but I immediately regretted it as he flushed for some reason, and looked as if he wanted to bang his head on a table.

"Hello!" the girl chirped. "Welcome to McDonalds! What can I get you?"

I put my hand on Hazel's shoulder. "Hazel?"

The girl at the register frowned as Hazel and I waited for the normal mistake to be made. "Are you two siblings?" she asked. "Half-siblings?"

After _years_ of being mistaken as a couple, someone saw that we weren't one! "FINALLY!" we yelled. " _Someone_ sees the resemblance!"

Will looked more confused by the second. "What?"

"Oh, we always get mistaken as a couple when we go out together."

Will grinned manically. "Plausible."

I gave him a playful punch, smiling fondly. "Oh, shut up, Solace."

I saw 'that' look in the girl's eyes. The one Piper got. "So, are _you_ two a couple?"

I looked at each other, raised our eyebrows, and flushed. Hazel did the much-anticipated eye roll. "No, sadly, they're not a couple… _Yet_."

I slapped her, irritated. "Oh, shut up. No, we're just best friends. You lot order, 'cause I'm gonna go find a table. C'mon, Will."

' _Why did I say that out loud?'_ I thought.

I picked one of the taller tables and sat down. I rolled my eyes at my thoughts. "I swear Solangelo _is_ a ship name."

Will chuckled. "True. I can't believe you actually said 'best friend' in public."

I shrugged, trying to hide my awkwardness. "It's true."

We laughed together. "We're both utter goofs," I stated.

Will chuckled. "You got that right."

Then Piper walked out the employee door. I gave Will my special smile, before turning to Piper, a lazy smile resting on my face. "Pipes!"

"Hey, guys!" she grinned.

"Hey, Pipes."

"Hi, Piper," Will greeted formally.

I rolled my eyes. Honestly, I do it a lot with Will around. I cast my special smile in his direction. "Hey, who's the girl at the third register to the right/2

"Lacey, why?"

Will butted in before I could open my mouth. "She thought we were a couple."

Piper raised an eyebrow. "You are, aren't you?"

I rolled my eyes, my gut flipping when I saw Will grinning at me. "Oh, shut up."

Two boys walked in, chatting. I cast a look at Will. "Shit."

He winced. "Uhhh…" he scrunched his eyes closed. "AH!"

Piper just looked at him. "What the…"

He sighed. "Never mind. I don't have the best history with him is a…"

"Hey, Solace."

Will didn't even both looking. "Luke, please, fuck off."

"What, too embarrassed in front of your…" he began, an evil smirk on his face.

"Shut up!" Will blustered, his face burning up.

I gripped Will's hand hard. "Don't listen," I whispered, rubbing my thumb on the back of his hand. "He won't get the satisfaction of you don't react."

He nodded tightly. "Luke, go away."

Octavian, clearly not wanting there to be another fight, yanked Luke's sleeve lightly. "Luke, c'mon," he ordered, quietly and firmly. "C'mon…"

I giggled quietly at his muffled last word. What I thought it was seemed such a ridiculous thought at the time, but, now, it seems normal and average.

Luke did this _we-ird_ smile, following Octavian away. Okay, when I say ' _we-ird'_ , I mean genuine. Then it clicked.

"Oh…" I began.

"…No…" Will followed on.

"Way!" we exclaimed together.

Will pulled a hilarious face. "No, they are not…" he muttered.

I was trying not to laugh. "Yeah… yeah they are…"

Hazel skipped over with Frank and Bianca. "Got the fo-ood!"

I grinned at Will, using my 'special' smile. "Great."

oOo

I spotted Rachel and Reyna walking towards us. "Hey!" Reyna cried.

"Hey, Reyna!" I grinned.

Will suddenly realised who it was and waved at Rachel. "Rache!"

Rachel rolled her eyes, her moderately pale skin being brought out by her glowing tomato-red hair. "Reyna _in-sis-ted_ that we eat here. Honestly, the unhealthiest place on earth?" she exclaimed.

"Glad we're on the same page," Will grinned, smiling at his good friend.

Will hated McDonalds? Why on _earth_ would he agree to come, then? "You hate McDonalds?"

He shrugged. "I'm practically a doctor. How could I not hate it?"

I shrugged as well. "I don't know, really… It's just that you didn't object."

"Well, you seemed to like it, so I decided to put up with it," he replied.

That's so sweet! I can't believe he did that! Of course, _nowadays_ , he'll _never_ go with me unless it's a special occasion. "Oh, erm… thanks."

Rachel poked Reyna and pointed over to a group of little girls. They were People Guessing! It's something I do a lot: you imagine what the people are like, what their names are, and what their lives are like. Apparently Will does it sometimes, so we sometimes sit in the park near his place doing People Spotting. Then, Rachel saw Octavian. "Well, looks like they got back together."

She confirmed _all_ of our suspicions.

I got a slightly painful jab on my arm. I turned to where Will was pointing and almost gagged. "Oh… Shit."

"No-o-o way," Will sighed. "That is _not_ happening."

I chuckled. "Oh, it is, Sunshine."

Will leant into my head. "Your 'special smile' is the best thing I can see."

It was such a stunning and unexpected compliment that I flushed bright red and hid my face in my arms. He was probably teasing me (as of nowadays, I know he was), but it was certainly a strange time to do it. "Wi-ill!" I moaned quietly.

"What?" he asked, still whispering. "I'm not allowed to love someone's smile?"

I turned as red as Rachel's hair. "St-st-stop it, Solace!" I stuttered, utterly mortified that my crush was being flirty with me.

Suddenly, he laughed, breaking the tension in between us. "I'm just messin' with ya, Neeks!" he chuckled. "Your smile is sweet though."

I gave him a light shove. "You're terrible like that, Sunshine," I snapped. "Thanks, though."

We both burst into gales of laughter. Then, I looked over to Octavian and Luke, along with Will. Luke was waving his hands around and turning heads, until Octavian kissed him to shut him up. I stayed looking at them kissing, but I seriously wished I hadn't. It looked very sexual and that, _again_ , turned a lot of heads. They kept looking over to me and Will, Luke pointing and making small gestures, while _Octavian_ was taking his turn in waving his hands like mad and shaking his head wildly. Luke pointed right at Reyna with a serious expression. Octavian stumbled up and gave Luke a jokey punch before heading over to us.

oOo

"Hey, Reyna."  
She jumped a little, turning to him. " _Octavian_?" she half-yelled, incredulous.

"Look," he sighed. "I'm sorry about your arm. I honestly don't know what came over me."

She gave what looked like a pained _grimace_. "I…" she faltered. "I forgive you."

He gave a blinding smile, his purple braces glinting in the bright light. "Thank you!"

He turned to me. In a scared panic, I winced slightly, still a little _terrified_ of him, due to the years of blatant bullying. "Nico, I'm sorry about threatening you in history. And Luke's sorry about insulting your mum. He really didn't mean it."

I raised an eyebrow and my lips peaked upwards. "I forgive you, Octavian. Tell Luke I forgive him, too."

It was the hardest thing to say. To just… forgive someone. My mum would've wanted it, so I had to do it. He gave me another grin. "Luke and I had the most gigantic argument on Wednesday and we didn't speak," he explained. "So… well, that's why we were both pissed."

For some reason, I was still terrified of them, even thought he'd apologised. Years of tormenting do that to you. I gripped Will's hand harder. I always seemed to be holding his hand! No matter what Will tells you, I was emotional when I said that we had a 'soulmate connection'. Alright, I _can_ be a soppy romantic if I want, but I have a reputation to uphold!

"Alright…" I stuttered, helplessly. "I'm sorry, but… I don't know how to react."

He gave me a teasing smirk. "Feeling's mutual, Nico." The joke's on him. He wasn't smirking when he saw who was calling him. "Fuck."

I had a feeling that I knew what this was. His dad was homophobic and he and Rachel hadn't come out to him yet. I was friends with Octavian for a little bit, until I found out he was blackmailing my sister into voting for him in the student vote. That's how I know him, so, I'm not a creepy stalker.

"H… hey, Dad…" he stuttered, confirming my suspicions somewhat. "No, I… Who said? I know, but… Rachel! Why aren't you mad at her?! That's sexist! I… Please! No! If you… I swear to…" He gazed at the 'dead screen' with a look of horror on his face, for what seemed like forever. Then he turned his eyes up to look at Rachel. "Dad found out. He heard it from someone who has a kid at our school who told him."

Rachel picked up her hairbrush and threw it at Octavian. Will reached for her hand with his right, still gripping my hand with his left. "Rachel…" he began, trying to comfort his friend. She turned and basically hissed at him. "You _moron_ ," she hissed at Octavian. "You used _me_ as a defence and now dad won't let either of us into the house!"

His eyes flickered with pure hatred and anger. "What would you do, _Rachel_?"

She reached out for his wrist. I saw Will and Octavian flinch for some reason, but she stopped when Reyna but a hand to her shoulder, muttering something incomprehensible. "I'm sorry," she murmured, looking panicked. "What are we going to do?"

He grabbed her hand, and rushed out with her. "Sorry, but we need to go somewhere _else_ to talk."

oOo

That is my definition of an awkward silence: Everyone absolutely shocked senseless, no one being able to explain what just happened, the only people able to explain having quickly fled from the scene, in the middle of a loud public place. Thankfully, or not-so-thankfully, Luke Castellan turned up. "What in Hades just happened?" he asked.

I dug my nails into Will's hand in total blind horror. He squeezed my hand back and my heart fluttered. "Well…" I began. "I assume it was you that forced Octavian to apologise?"

He began to talk, futilely. "What do you…"

I cut him off almost immediately. "Will and I both saw what you two were doing over there. This lot are so painfully oblivious they won't know what I mean, so, no need to worry about that."

Luke shook his head slowly, doing that horrid rueful grin I had come to know and _hate_. "Good call, di Angelo, good call. So, what happened?"

"Octavian apologised, then he got a call from his dad, I think, then he said his dad found out about something-or-other, Rachel yelled at him for using her as defence, saying that her dad wouldn't let either of them into the house, then she apologised, and they went somewhere else to talk."

"Oh, noooooo. Seriously?"

His deep blue eyes made contact with my purple ones. They looked so dangerous, compared to the blue eyes of my best friend/crush I loved so much. I was point-blank terrified of Luke, so I edged a little closer to Will. He rubbed his thumb in circles on the back of my hand to calm me down. I felt my palm warming up with all the heat his hand was giving off, and I'm rather sure my _face_ was heating up as well. All my anger dissipated and I leant backwards onto his shoulder.

Luke gave us a genuine smile. "Thanks. Tip: don't try to contact Rachel until tomorrow morning."

Will opened his downright _dangerous_ mouth to snap at him. "I think I know that, Castellan."

I futilely tried to tickle his palm his with my fingers, twisting our hands into an unnatural position.

"Thanks. Are we even?" I asked.

Luke gave me a curt nod. "Even."

I nodded back. "Even."

Our hands connected and we sealed our truth inside it. After only 45 minutes in McDonalds, I had gained all of that.

oOo

"Hey, Nico."

I jumped a little when I heard my crushes voice.

"Yeah, Solace?"

"Do you want to come over to mine tomorrow? We need to do the Catherine Parr bit of the vido and we've got the poster to do."

I gave Will my special smile, trying to make _him_ smile. "I'd love to. What time?" I asked, feeling like an idiot for pouncing that last question onto him right away.

"It's about a… hour and a half for a walk, so, that's out of the question, maybe the bus?"

I nodded, reaching for my friend's hand while we walked down the dark yet brightly lit high street. Solace is probably going to mention the 'soulmate connection' thing at this point, but, please see to the McDonalds scene for my thoughts on it. "Sounds great. I'm _not_ a morning person _at all_. I'll wake up early _for you,_ " I teased jokily, slapping myself for being so flirty. "So, maybe… eleven? When I get to yours, I mean. The ride's about forty-five minutes, so I'll wake up at ten."

He chuckled and my heart melted. "Aww, Nico di Angelo can't get enough of me!"

I shoved him, _almost_ onto the road. "Hush your mouth, Solace."

We found each other's hands again and gripped tight. Then, a few lines from a song I recognised as 'The Fighter' trilled from his phone. He quickly answered the call, blushing bright red.

He tugged his hand from my grasp so he could hold his phone to his 'good' ear, but I slipped around his other side so I could grab his other hand. He rolled his eyes. No, not me, him. For once!

"Hey, Le," he sighed. A red blush crept up his cheeks, having only just faded. "Dear Hades, Lee! For the last time: _he's not my boyfriend_!"

My heart dropped. Lee was talking about me. Will was so _disgusted_ by the idea of being my boyfriend it made him embarrassed! Of course, now I know he was embarrassed _because_ he had a crush on me. It should have been perfectly obvious at the time, but love does strange things to the mind.

"Since when did you snoop on my phone calls to Cecile?" he asked, seemingly hopping from topic to topic. He flushed _bright_ red. Whatever Lee's answer was to his rhetorical question was certainly _not_ what he wanted to hear. "Oh, be quiet, Lee. It's true, but be quiet."

Will just brought something to my attention. We both said and say that a lot, don't we? Yes we do, Will. Yes we do. I was wondering what was 'true', until he jerked the phone away from his head as Lee's voice burst from the phone. "He admitted it! Kayla, you owe me five bucks!"

Will chuckled awkwardly, biting his lip. I was still grasping his hand, so I squeezed it to reassure him. He jumped topics _again_ , saying, "Wait, who's in that car?" he paused. "Yeah, I do need a lift. How far away are you?"

He sighed when the question wasn't answered, mouthing 'brothers' and shaking his head. "Yeah, I did. It's 100% true…"

It was driving me crazy! What was 'true'?! Of course, _now_ I know that it was that he had a crush on me, but he wasn't about to spill it in the middle of the street, now, was he?!

"Kayla! Finally, someone sane!" he flushed again. "Thanks, Kay… Address?"

He looked at me in a half-panic. I gripped his hand tighter. "It's 13 Tartarus Road, Sunshine."

He snorted. Man, how I hate the name of our road! "Tartarus? AS in the death pit of the Underworld?"

I didn't bother to remind him that he was still holding the phone to his ear and that he probably sounded a complete and utter _twozzle_ to Kayla, who could only hear him, not me. I squeezed his hand. "Oh, be quiet, Sunshine."

"Sorry, just asking Nico. It's 13 Tartarus Road… Yes, you did… You're asking that so I don't have to embarrass myself by saying the whole thing aren't you?" he sighed, realising he had said that out loud. "Be quiet. The answer is yes, though. Absolutely. 100%... Cool. Bye!"

I tapped Will with my free hand. "Who was that?"

"First it was Lee, but he was teasing me and not letting me get to the point. Kayla wrestled the phone off him. She was teasing me a little too. That's what the 'you admitted it' thing came from."

I nodded, not wanting to push him further, tightening my grip on his hand.

oOo

"Bye, Sunshine," I smiled as I closed the door.

"Bye, Angel," He replied, dashing down the path as I banged the door closed.

I turned around to see Hazel grinning at me. "So cute. Angel and Sunshine, eh?"

I held up my hands in defence. "It's our last names. The meanings of them."

"Oh, yeah, his name's Solace, isn't it?" she smirked. Still adorable."

I rolled my eyes. The joke was on me, though: As she walked away, she shouted, "I expect to be in the front row at your wedding!"

As I ran up the stairs to my room, I yelled "Shut the fuck up!"

oOo

I did my one piece of art homework, which I assumed Solace was doing at that very moment. Now, why did I care so much about him? I wonder why? Cue me rolling my eyes. When I finished it, I read a little more of Twilight, then picked up my phone.

 **DeathAngel: Hey, Sunshine**

 **SolaceShine: Hey, Angel. What is it?**

 **DeathAngel: Yay, another perfect texter! XD**

 **SolaceShine: What, I hate improper grammar! At least I'm not the only one. LOL**

 **DeathAngel: Rich, Solace, real rich. Fast typer, too.**

 **SolaceShine: Touché, Angel. Right back at you. ;-p**

 **DeathAngel: I'll assume the 'touché' was autocorrect and you didn't actually put the accent on.**

 **SolaceShine: It was. So, what do you want?**

 **DeathAngel: What, I can't just text my best friend?**

 **SolaceShine: You're getting WAY too much pleasure from saying that, aren't you?**

 **DeathAngel: I've never officially had a best friend before, per-se, so I like saying it.**

 **SolaceShine: Alright then! Are you bored or something?**

 **DeathAngel: Yeah. Done all my homework at lunch today, expect from one piece I just did. Hazel and Frank and making out in the next room.**

 **SolaceShine: WAY too much detail! I don't care, to be honest.**

 **DeathAngel: They're making out way too loudly at that.**

 **SolaceShine: LOL**

 **DeathAngel: Got anything for me to do?**

 **SolaceShine: Me? XD**

 **DeathAngel: OMG WILL! You have a dirty mind! Then again, so do I.**

 **SolaceShine: Sorry. I couldn't resist. LOL. We're both dirty-minded.**

 **DeathAngel: Pretty much, yeah.**

 **SolaceShine: Oh, I've been meaning to ask if you're free next Wednesday after school?**

 **DeathAngel: Yeah, why?**

 **SolaceShine: We've got two 'teacher training' days at the next of next week so we obviously don't have to go to school…**

 **DeathAngel: Your point is…**

 **SolaceShine: I'm having a sleepover with Cecile and Lou. Do you want to come?**

Ohh, sleepover! The last sleepover I went to was with _everyone_. Jackson, Annie, Grace, Pipes, Zhang, Haze, Valdez, and RA-RA. All. Of. Them. Candyfloss, marshmallows, prototype cannons, feather pillows, and orange-juice-soaked newspapers. Oh, not forgetting blood and blue food dye. Absolute. Total. Bloody. Chaos.

 **SolaceShine: That was stupid. Telling you who's coming before asking you. Derp. ;-p**

 **DeathAngel: I'd love to! Wait, your dad didn't flip because you're inviting a girl?!**

 **SolaceShine: My dad doesn't care. After all, no one's going to get naked with everyone else watching, are they?**

 **DeathAngel: LOL!**

 **SolaceShine: Do you want to invite someone along?**

 **DeathAngel: …That was unexpected. Let me have a think.**

 **SolaceShine: Sorry.**

 **DeathAngel: No problem. What about Piper? She knows Lou Ellen quite well.**

 **SolaceShine: Sure! I'll tell Dad. Wait a second.**

"Hey, Dad," I said, running into the living room with my phone in one hand.

"Yes, Nico?" he asked. "How was McDonalds?"

"Great, yet, a little traumatising, to be honest," I grinned. "Luke and Octavian, the two that used to bully me, apologised, then something-or-other happened on the phone to Octavian's dad, then he and Rachel stormed out."

Dad raised his eyebrow. "Really, Nico? Did you enjoy it?"

"Yeah!" I grinned, over-enthusiastically. "Thanks so much!" I kissed my father on the cheek, before rapidly pulling back.

"Okay, what do you want, Nico? Money? You don't just kiss me on the cheek and want nothing in return," he smiled.

I ruffled my hair. "Well, Will invited me to his sleepover next Wednesday. Can I go?"

"Of course!" he replied. "Is this the same young man that calls you Angel and you call Sunshine?"

"HAZEL!" I yelled, _bright_ red. "Yes, it is."

"Hazel needs to learn to keep her mouth shut," I muttered as I rushed back upstairs, a goofy smile on my face.

 **SolaceShine: Dad's cool, Angel**

 **DeathAngel: When did that nickname start?**

 **SolaceShine: When I realised that 'Angelo' translates to 'Angel'**

 **DeathAngel: Sweet of you for noticing. I'm glad I can come. What are we doing?**

 **SolaceShine: Well, Truth or Dare and a bunch of other stuff. You'll never guess what!**

 **DeathAngel: What? I guessed what?**

 **SolaceShine: You're annoying. You're lucky you're so cute.**

 **DeathAngel: ?**

 **SolaceShine: Sorry. In a goth/emo way.**

 **DeathAngel: You're lucky YOU'RE so cute, Solace. Otherwise you'd be dead by now. So, what is it?**

 **SolaceShine: Beforehand Percy Jackson's having a little get-together at his mum's flat. I assumed you were invited so we're going back to mine after that. Were you invited?**

Confused, I checked Seaweed Brain's chat. Yep, there it was. I replied to Percy's message, switching back to Will's.

 **DeathAngel: Yeah. Oops, had his chat on silent 'cause he was spamming me. LOL!**

 **SolaceShine: #smh. Gotta go. We have this stupid family tradition where we play board games every night. Wish me luck in Monopoly!**

 **DeathAngel: Good luck!** _ **That's**_ **four hours of your life you'll never get back. LOL. By the way, do you like your brother?**

 **SolaceShine: Typical sibling stuff, but, otherwise, yeah.**

 **DeathAngel: From what you said, he sounds like the typical older brother TWAZZOK!**

 **SolaceShine: Nice insult. Don't worry, I won't tell him.**

 **DeathAngel: You'd better not. Good luck. Bye!**

 **SolaceShine: Bye!**

I sat around reading for about ten minutes, until I finished my book, which was 'Twilight'. I didn't want to start the next one because I always stay up really late to read if I start a new book at night. I sat on my bed daydreaming for five minutes until the door opened, soundlessly.

"Hey, Neeks, have you got your flowers for tomorrow yet?" Hazel asked, sticking her head into the room. "If not, you might want to go grab some."

It was 8:00 and it was cold. No way was I going now. "I'll get some on the way," I promised.

"Didn't you organise to go over to Will's?" she asked.

I bit my lip - hard - in a moment of sudden realisation. "Oh, crap." I picked up my phone.

 **DeathAngel: OMG, Will, I'm SO sorry! I completely forget that I have to go my weekly stint down to the graveyard!**

 **SolaceShine: Hey! Everyone targeted me and I went bankrupt straight away. We've only been playing for 15 minutes!**

 **DeathAngel: I do a little trip down to the graveyard at 3 every week. I usually take the bus down your way and go to the graveyard near you. I might not be able to come**

 **SolaceShine: Remember, you'll already be at my house, and it's only a ten minute walk. You can go on your own or I could come with you.**

 **DeathAngel: Really?**

 **SolaceShine: I won't stop you.**

 **DeathAngel: No, you'll come with me?**

 **SolaceShine: Of course! If you want me to, that is.**

 **DeathAngel: Thanks so much!**

 **SolaceShine: No problem.**

 **DeathAngel: No, seriously, thanks so much**

 **SolaceShine: Gotta go help Austin. Vicky owns half the board and she's just laughing and watching as we DIE**

 **DeathAngel: I like her**

 **SolaceShine: LOL. Bye**

 **DeathAngel: Bye**

I was excited for the next day.


	11. Flowers - Will

"Rise and shine, Will."

I had just cracked open my eyes slightly, at around nine o' clock. Nico would be waking up in an hour. Why was I so interested in Nico, you ask? Cue me rolling my eyes. You _clearly_ haven't been paying attention.

Waking up to my little sister bending over my face, chirping "Rise and shine, Will," and giggling uncontrollably was probably the worst thing I could wake up to. I knew I should have jerked out her way, but my bed was really warm, even though I was wide awake, I didn't want to move.

The _ice_ -cold water soaked my bright blonde hair, the duvet, and my red boxer shorts. She had used an _entire_ bucket. I was drenched. "KAYLA!" I screamed.

She dashed outside with her bucket, but Dad caught her outside. Dad stripped the covers off my bed and ordered me to get changed while he changed the sheets. I pulled on a bright white t-shirt that read 'DOCTORS ORDERS' in rainbow letters, navy cargo pants, and an emerald green hoodie. When I came back in, Kayla had been subjected to putting the Pokémon covers on my bed, on the duvet, pillows, and mattress sheet.

I grinned at her and jokily pulled her green and tomato-red hair, telling her that I forgave her. She gave me a rueful smirk and buttoned up the Pokémon duvet. She tucked in the mattress sheet properly and walked downstairs with me to get breakfast.

As we sat, Austin began to talk about someone in his class. We listened. It was a normal story. This girl had a dad that moved around a lot, scheduled to move again when she was nineteen (her dad worked for some special police force). She lived in Japan at one to three, Sweden at four to six, Norway at seven to nine, England at nine to twelve, and Portugal at twelve to fifteen, finally ending at America at sixteen.

It was a story about a school lockdown when she was twelve. Austin grinned manically. "I'll tell his from _her_ perspective," he explained.

We all gulped, knowing _that_ smile meant something scary was coming.

"I was eleven years old. We had a lockdown drill on a Wednesday, at ten twenty-three. We were in an English lesson and my teacher was Miss Gardener. Her full name was Demeter Gardener. She was a laid-back teacher. She pointed at me and she asked me to answer the question. It was a spirit week, about countries. We had a day on America, Britain, and a day on Japan, which was the Wednesday. I had my hair in a tight black bun, and all my skin was painted bright white, all the way down my shoulders and collar bones, to my elbows, all behind my ears, and up to the top of my thighs. I was wearing a Geisha Girl robe, white with a flowered pattern of pink and blue flowers, and a light pink tassel around the waist. My shoes were sandals, and my feet were freezing cold, it being January in Britain. I had two chopsticks through my bun. The lockdown started. My teacher straightened up after five minutes, turned on the light, and kept on teaching. Then, a voice crackled over the PA system. 'Stay in lockdown. This. Is not. A drill.'

We all ducked back under the tables, all sticking out slightly. We heard a creek, and it got very cold. But we were all facing the door, as we had all been taught. It was England, and cold, so no one though anything of it. It was probably that bloody vent in the ceiling that was broken. My legs suddenly got cold. It was England, and the vent was right above me, so I thought nothing of it. They got colder and colder, and I could swear I was getting frostbite. Then, I felt the most disturbing thing in my life. Someone was pulling on the elastic of my underwear. I whipped around and saw a man right there, leaning over, into the room, holding onto the elastic of my pants. I screamed as loud as I could and lunged upwards. He thought I was trying to grab him, but I ripped one of the chopsticks out of my hair and stuck it down the back of his shirt. The girl next to me smartly called 999. She handed the phone to me and I explained what happened.

He was never caught. He was a registered sex offender. I've never worn a dress since then, and I've never sat next to a window in class."

He banged the table, making us jump out of our entranced state in shock. My eyes widened. "Oh. My. God. Who is that?"

"Lacy."

I bit my lip. "Thanks for putting me off my food."

We sat around scaring ourselves silly with Mr. Nightmare videos until ten, when I couldn't contain my irrational excitement, so I text Nico.

 **SolaceShine: Mornin', Angel**

Ahh! ' _Too perfect, Solace!'_ I scolded myself. ' _It sounds like a boyfriend text!'_

 **DeathAngel: Mornin' , Sunshine**

I sighed quietly. Phew, he didn't seem flipped.

 **SolaceShine: How are you?**

 **DeathAngel: I'm great, thanks! You?**

 **SolaceShine: Same, really. Good gods, you're enthusiastic!**

 **DeathAngel: What, I'm excited! XD**

 **SolaceShine: *rolling my eyes***

 **DeathAngel: Shut up**

 **SolaceShine: I didn't say anything…**

 **DeathAngel: Stop being pedantic!**

 **DeathAngel: …I'mmmmm a total hypocrite**

 **SolaceShine: What?**

 **DeathAngel: Literally just had an entire argument on my friends' chat about whether or not I'm pedantic**

 **SolaceShine: You are**

 **DeathAngel: Oh be quiet…**

 **SolaceShine: Video call?**

' _Ah, I'm an idiot,'_ I scolded myself. ' _He's in public, so he won't want to.'_

I was surprised when I saw the caller screen. I accepted instantly. "Hey, Sunshine!" he chirped.

I grinned wildly. "Hey, Angel!"

"These nicknames… People will think you're my boyfriend."

That unexpected line from him shocked me quite a bit. _Great_ time for my flirty nature to come through: "I wouldn't mind it."

He stuck his little pink tongue. I got the stupid urge to… feel what it was like. As I wanted to punch myself, he said the like I expected: "Oh, be quiet."

Thank the _gods_ he took it as a friendly joke. I chuckled a little, until I saw Kayla advancing down the hall in her bright pink socks, holding another bucket _full_ of iced water, and a devilish smirk on her face. "Oi, Kayla…" I began, knowing Nico would think I was crazy. "No more water, Kay…" I warned. "You already soaked me to the skin this morning…"

Austin opened his mouth to bellow 'DAD!', so I quickly covered one of my ears. "DAD!" be bellowed.

I chuckled sheepishly. "Sorry 'bout that."

He gave his adorable laugh. "No problem, Sunshine. So, she soaked you to the skin this morning?"

I gave a little moan. "Second I woke up. Drenched to the skin with iced water." I laughed as Kayla stalked past me with a stroppy frown on her face. ' _Jeez, use full sentences, dumbass!'_ I thought.

Nico winced. Probably at the thought of iced water. "Oh, snap."

I laughed loudly. "Yeah, it wasn't pleasant."

He gave his adorable giggle, hunching his shoulders. I saw more of the awesome leather jacket he was wearing. "Nice coat. Great, in fact. The collar's cool. Is it leather?"

Yeah, too many compliments in one sentence.

He flushed a little, rubbing his red cheeks with his long, pale fingers. "Yeah. The fur isn't real, though. Bianca got it for me when she went on a school trip to Italy last year."

' _Italy?'_ I thought. ' _Is this the rumoured secret school trip?'_

"You got to Italy in the grade above us?" I asked, confused.

The adorable blush flooded from his cheeks, replaced by a dull sheen of awkward realisation. "Fuck, I wasn't supposed to say that," he winced.

I laughed, wanting him to smile again. "Don't fret, I won't tell anyone."

He rolled his eyes (again). "She brought a lot of money just to get me something from our home country."

It took me a moment for me to figure out he was talking about Bianca. "Your sister's sweet," I said.

He shook his head a rueful smile on his face. "I suppose. She can also be a right pain in the ass."

"To be expected with sisters," I smirked.

"Hang on, I'm going to have to call you off. Bus is here."

"See ya, Angel," I grinned, sad to see him go.

"See ya, Sunshine," he replied, pressing the 'end call' button.

 **DeathAngel: Will… I'm a little scared**

I ran a hand through my hair, frowning. ' _Why's Nico scared?'_ I wondered, tapping out my reply. ' _Is someone harassing him, or something?'_

 **SolaceShine: What's up?**

 **DeathAngel: Call me superstitious, but there's a man sitting next to me and his presence is making me scared as fuck… :-(**

' _That's probably the same kind of uneasiness we get around Luke and Octavian,'_ I reasoned, typing out my response.

 **SolaceShine: Calm down, Angel. Don't worry. Just move if you feel really uncomfortable. ;-)**

 **DeathAngel: Thanks, Sunshine**

 **SolaceShine: I love these nicknames. Seriously.**

 **DeathAngel: Thanks, I guess.**

 **SolaceShine: No problem ;-p**

I hope that I managed to cheer him up. I sat back on the sofa and put my phone on the arm. Kayla reached over my lap and snatched it up. She giggled as she read back through my texts. She outright burst out laughing when she got to when I told Nico to calm down. " _Will_!" she exclaimed, in mock disgust. "That looks like a _boyfriend_ text!"

Austin eagerly reached over and yanked it out of Kayla's hands. "Give it over." He laughed too when he read the _same_ text. "Well, this is… surprising."

I slapped him with a pillow. "It's a nickname, dumbass."

They chuckled. I sighed, walking over to the bookshelf and saw a golden book. Artemis Fowl. Out of an odd nostalgia, I opened up the book on the third chapter and read on from where I had got with Nico.

There was a knock on the door. I jumped, but I went to open it. He jerked forward and gave me a loose hug. I was so shocked and pleased that it took me a few seconds before I wrapped an arm around his shoulder, my face bright red. I heard the 'click' of Austin's camera and Kayla murmuring, "Priceless."

We recoiled instantly. I flushed even harder. "Well, that was unexpected."

Nico was putting a tomato to shame, biting his lip hard. "Eh, sorry, I don't know what came over me."

Kayla snickered. "Wow, Sunny."

When we got to my room, I opened my laptop up and patted the Pokémon bed sheets beside me. We finished the video in precisely fifty-five minutes. "Fifty-five minutes," I exclaimed, shutting down the programmed. We started to cheer, until Nico gave his sweet, infectious giggle. We were in absolute stitches within a few mere seconds. I loved being one of the very select few that could make Nico di Angelo laugh. I still am. It was a huge honour to be his best friend, and I wasn't going to fail him. When we stopped chuckling, I sent the document off to Chiron on LearnWorkPlay, the website we used to chat with our class, see our courses, print out worksheets, and send work around. We sat in a few seconds of silence, until…

"Want to play Horror Stories, Angel?" I asked him, still _loving_ the nicknames. I still love them.

He nodded, his eyes sparkling when I said 'Angel'. "I've got a good one."

"Go ahead."

"Disclaimer, this didn't happen to me, but I'm telling it in first person," he warned me.

"I'm intrigued. Go on," I encouraged.

"I have a bed with those long sheets that brush the floor and close off the compartment underneath me. There's also I plug socket behind there. I usually charge my phone from there and put it on my nightstand. I have an alarm set for precisely six in the morning. One morning, my alarm woke me up at some ungodly hour. I checked my phone. The fuck? It was three. The alarm was called 'Down'. I assumed it was my brother messing with me, so I binned the alarm and went back to sleep."

I was already entranced by this. "The next day, my brother swore he had _nothing_ to do with it. I passed it off as me doing it while I was had asleep. That night, my alarm went off at one past three. It was called 'Under'. I was seriously pissed with whoever was doing it (I was suspecting my _dad_ at this point), so I cancelled the alarm and set a password on my phone, sticking it behind my headboard.

The _next_ morning, I woke up at two past three, with an alarm called 'The'. I did another password, deleted the alarm, and went back to sleep.

The _next_ morning, I woke up to an alarm called 'Bed'. I groaned when I saw the low charge on my phone. Still highly pissed with whoever it was, I reached under the bed to get my charger. Then it hit me: the alarms spelled out 'Down Under The Bed'."

I gasped. My set up was almost the _exact same_. I had a plug socket under my bed, with an extension plugged into one socket, which I charged my phone, I-Pad, and Kindle. ' _What if there's a man under my bed?'_ I thought.

Nowadays, I know it's a stupid thought, but I couldn't help myself. His arms reached out and enveloped my stomach. I had to hold back a sharp gasp and the butterflies in my stomach went wild. We were sat cross-legged on the bed, opposite each other, and he took both my hands. I squeezed them tight to show acceptance and pleasure.

"Before I could jerk back into bed, I felt a hand grab my arm. I let out the shrillest scream a boy ever could. My parents ran into the room, my dad holding his baseball bat. He knocked out the man under the bed when he saw me being dragged under the bed. It turned out the man was a runaway from a mental asylum. He had been arrested ten times and he was a registered sex offender for life, getting pleasure from harassing young children.

The thing that disturbs me is that this man had been in my house, under my bed for four days…"

I took a creaking breath, terrified. "Woah… I don't know how I can beat that…"

Nico turned his head down, his eyes burning with shame. "I'm so sorry for scaring you."

I place my forehead against his and gave him a forgiving smile. "I don't mind, Nico. Thanks for noticing."

We stayed there for a few minutes, not needing words to have a conversation, taking in each other's eyes. I was lost in his beautiful dark purple eyes when Kayla shattered the peace, by shrieking, in an ear-piercing voice, "LUNCH!"

oOo

We ran downstairs. It was our usual 'bits and bobs' meal. We piled stuff onto our plates and walked back to my room. I asked Nico what he liked to watch.

"I like 'Show Me What You're Made Of'," he shrugged.

"Oh, I've never heard of that," I confessed, confused.

"It's British."

I found it on I-Player and I instantly loved it. We binged the first series until two, when Nico poked my arm. "Do you remember what you said about three?"

The graveyard? I'd been thinking about nothing else. "The graveyard? Of course."

He took my hand kindly. "Can we go get some flowers? I forgot to get some on my way up."

I nodded. I had overheard Hazel telling Frank how sweet her brother was when he chose flowers for the grave, and I was strangely curious. "Sure. There's a cart on the way there. Meg often helps out there."

"Who? Oh, Meg! Kayla's friend, right?"

I nodded. "That's the one. Yeah, as I was saying, she helps out there."

"Miranda and… Katie, was it?" he tried.

"Her older sister, yeah. Katie's the oldest. Y'know Julia and Alice?"

He rolled his eyes _again_. "Yeah, yeah, I know. Their adopted brothers are Travis and Conner and Conner's dating Katie Gardener."

I raised my eyebrow. "Okay, then. That's that I was going to say, so… yeah."

We chuckled. "We'll go at twenty-five past, so we can finish this episode."

We put on our coats and headed out when it got to twenty-five past. Nico was refusing to look at me and wasn't speaking one word. I knew he wanted that way. I was strangely hurt that he wasn't looking at me and he was walking as far away from me as he could. I knew we only met recently (very, very recently), but he called me his best friend. That had to mean _something_ , right? He took a large stride towards me and crushed me in a hug, his arms around my back. I smiled as he burrowed his face into my chest. I loved that he was shorter than me. He could nuzzle into my chest, which he loved doing, and I could mess around with his hair to comfort him. I ruffled his hair with one hand and hugged him with the other, smiling sadly. "Hey, hey," I chided him. "Y'alright, Angel?"

He nodded into my chest. My face was burning at having Nico so close to me, and in public, too. It felt good to be so closely trusted by him. "Are… are you sure you want to come with me? I get _really_ emotional," he asked.

It was my turn to roll my eyes. I ruffled his hair for a final time, before beginning to walk again. He was clutching my hand tight and walking right beside me now. Nowadays, that completely normal, but then it was an absolute blessing, even though we held hands often. "Of course. I want to be there for you."

"Thanks."

Nico pulled out his wallet when we got to the stand. It was on the grass at the edge of the park, where we were, and the flowers were arranged around it in buckets of water. Hazel was right: Nico was so _adorably excited_ when he started looking. He fell in love with a bouquet of different red, orange and yellow flowers. He handed over the flowers along with the cost of five dollars at the stand.

He looked sad and nostalgic, so I squeezed his hand in reassurances. "I'm sure she'll love them."

Katie told Nico that this 'incident' wasn't the worst assumption she'd made in her five years of working the stand, but it was the one she felt worst about. I don't blame her, even though Nico _insists_ it's fine.

"Oh, they're for a girl, are they? I'm sure the girl's amazing and lovely to warrant such beautiful flowers!" she exclaimed kindly.

I looked at Nico with a look that was equal parts pity and panic. He was giving me a look of pure annoyance, pity for Katie, and panic. "Yeah, she… Erm… was or is?"

A cartoon lightbulb may as well have popped up above her head because of how obvious her sudden realisation was. "Oh… I'm so sorry, Nico!"

"It's alright. In case you're unsure, they're for my mama at the graveyard."

She smiled, focusing on the positive. "Aww, Nico, that's a sweet name!"

"Bye!" we called.

"Bye! Have a good day!" she chirruped.

Nico talked for a little while, in Italian sometimes, so I couldn't understand. Then, he simply broke into loud, heart-wrenching sobs, wracking his entire anorexic frame. He collapsed into my arms, gulping and shaking. I held him in my lap as he wept into my chest. I held his hand with one hand, rubbing circles on the back of his hand with my thumb, tracing hearts and 'it's alright' on it occasionally. With my other hand, I was rubbing his back and holding his head. I ran my hand through his silky hair, smiling when he tightened his arms around me. His tears were dampening my hoodie and his fingers were gripping the material hard, turning his knuckles white. He pulled me even closer, if it were possible, burying his face into my hoodie. His hair got in my face and over my eyes, and I breathed in the smell of cranberries and pomegranates. "Shh, Nico. I'm not going to pretend that I understand, because what you're going through is too awful for me to comprehend. Just know that we can get through this, me and you. Your Mama may not be here anymore, but you still have amazing memories of her and pictures to look back on. It's going to be alright, Angel. I promise," I chided, rocking him a little.

He nodded as he cried. "Th… Thank you, Sunshine, thank you."

We sat there in silence, only broken by me whispering, "My Angel," and him choking out, "My Sunshine." The smell of Nico's silky hair and the damp soil filled my nostrils and my cargo pants were slightly wet from sitting on the grass. I didn't care. I only care about comforting the grieving, anorexic boy curled up in my lap. Eventually his hands relaxed and he laced his fingers together behind my back. He raised his head, his eyes teary and red-rimmed, but still stunning and beautiful. I allowed myself to get lost in the deep purple eyes, the golden flecks in his irises seemingly laying at the bottom of the irises in a heartbreakingly sad way. When he made eye contact, the golden flecks moved, dancing around the irises, as if unsure how to arrange themselves.

We sat beside the grave, clinging onto each other as if we could never bare to let go. Nico screamed and sobbed and cursed. He yelled about how unfair his life was and how he wanted to die. "Hush, Angel, hush," I murmured, holding his head as he cried into my shoulder. "You don't want to die, Nico. You're angry that the crash took your Mama."

"I do! I do!" he screamed into my hoodie. "I hate you! I hate you!"

"No you don't, Angel. I know you don't. You don't want to die, do you?"

He shook his head. "No… no, I don't. I... I'm angry. Why… why did it take her?"

"Hush, Angel, hush," I whispered.

He pressed his forehead to mine, his nose to mine. "Ca…" he stuttered. "Can we go?"

I nodded, helping him to his feet and drying his eyes with my sleeve. He breathed in the strong smell of home from his furry collar on his amazing jacket, before walking out with me, hand in hand. He would sometimes look at me and give me his beautiful special smile, before squeezing my hand.

As we walked by the keeper's hut, the keeper walked out and over to us. "Hey, Nico," he greeted. "Are you alright?"

Nico nodded, a small smile creeping onto his face. "I'm fine, thank you, Jules-Albert." They shook hands. "Will's been a great help."

Jules smiled softly. "Is Will your boyfriend?"

He chuckled hastily. "Oh, no, nothing like that, sir. He's my… best friend."

Jules shook his head, chuckling. "I'm glad you're alright, Nico." He turned to me. "Would you mind if I got you alone for a moment, sir?"

"Not at all," I replied, smiling at Nico and slipping from his grasp.

"I just wanted to thank you, Will," he told me once we got far enough away.

"Thank _me_?" I repeated, bemused. "Why on earth would you want to _thank_ me, sir?"

He sighed. "Nico is always having breakdowns on his own at the grave. If I try and help he always insists he's fine and pushes me away. Thank you for helping him. He needs it. I can assure you that I only thought you were together because of the way you talked to him and comforted him. You would be a great one for him."

I blushed. "Thank you, sir. I'm only helping a friend."

"One more thing," he added. "I promise not to pass this information onto Nico: I'm simply curious. Do you like him?"

I blushed harder and looked down at my feet. "Yes. I do, sir. An awful lot."

He clapped me on the shoulder. "Good luck, Will. You'll be great for him."

I smiled. "Thank you."

We parted ways.

When I got back to Nico, I was smiling in spite of myself. He smiled his special smile and my heart just melted for him. We slowly walked towards the exit, hand in hand.

Nico stared at his phone. It was an unknown caller. Nico put on his deeper American voice. I was disappointed, as I absolutely adore being one of the people he talks to in his high-pitched, thick Italian accent. Also, it is _really_ endearing.

"Hello?"

"Greetings," the crackly voice on the other end greeted. "You wouldn't happen to be Nico di Angelo, would you?"

His eyes widened. "I'm sorry, I didn't hear that."

"I know you did, boy. Now, where are you? You're not shouting out the window with your prissy little sister."

Nico jumped and shut off the call. "It's that window creep."

He called Hazel. "Hey, Hazel."

"Yeah, I'm good… Will was a great help… I'll tell you later… You saw the guy again?" he frowned, before casting his special smile at me. "He called me… Yeah… He said 'you wouldn't happen to be Nico di Angelo, would you?' Then I told him that I was sorry but I couldn't hear him. Then he said, 'I know you did, boy. Now, where are you? You're not shouting out the window that your prissy little sister'… Yeah, I did… No, it's probably a prank that's gone too far…"

I felt like screaming. Nowadays, I know it definitely _wasn't_ a prank. Nico took my hand again. "Bye, Haze," he sighed, pocketing the phone. He smiled at me. "Stupid pranksters."


	12. Flowers - Nico

I woke up at nine o' clock, a lot earlier than usual, because I was excited about seeing Will that day. Why was I so interested in Will, you ask? Cue me rolling my eyes. You _clearly_ haven't been paying attention.

Usually, I missed family breakfasts on weekends, because I woke so late. I dressed in a black t-shirt that depicted a cartoon skeleton sat underneath a tropical umbrella sipping a cocktail out of a coconut. My legs were clad in black skinny jeans, and over my t-shirt, I was wearing my black button-up leather jacket with its bright white fur collar.

I heard Hazel creep past my bedroom door to go to breakfast. I ripped open my white door, yelling, "GOLD DIGGER!"

Hazel jumped. "Oh!" she sighed, seeing me grinning at my bedroom door. "Nico, you scared me!"

Had it been me, I would've said 'You scared the fuck out of me', but Hazel hated swearing and she often scolded _me_ for swearing. Even though she was thirteen, she had been placed up a grade when she was eleven, so we decided that we had to take the other and their orders seriously, as she was 'technically' the same mental age as me. I don't swear around her often.

"You're up early," she remarked, before I could say anything. "Excited to spend the day with your boyfriend?"

"Ye…" I began, before realising that I had just called Will my _boyfriend_. "Oh, fuck, no…"

She giggled, poking my nose. "Don't swear. I know you didn't mean it, but, that was too priceless not to say."

We headed down to breakfast. When we got there, we sat down, placed our fabric napkins on our laps, and heaped butter, sugar, syrup, bananas, and blueberries onto our pancakes, before digging in. We started up our usual dream conversation, talking about the 'amazing' dreams we'd had at night. A lot of the time, we make them up, but it's one way of sharing things we wish had happened, and lies about people at school, without actually lying. After 'it' happened, mine were _all_ true. After spending a few nights at Will's, it died down, almost stopping utterly. Anyway, back to the dreams.

"I dreamt that Nico and I were adventuring. Something about a giant statue… Nico was 'jumping' around Europe. With the statue, and the gym coach Nico and I made friends with! Do you remember?"

I nodded. "Coach Hedge."

Reyna continued. "We were in… Portugal, I think. Remember, where we went there when we were eleven?"  
Everyone nodded eagerly, wanting to hear the rest of her story. "Nico was asleep for ages. He wore himself out with the jump. When he woke up, we were attacked by… werewolves, I think. Nico got a scratch right up his arm, both arms, actually. A doctor fixed it when we got where we needed to go."

I grinned, wanting to tell her what I had dreamed. _Actually_ dreamed. "I was fighting. I was sneaking up on the enemy. My arm hurt a lot. Wait, no, both arms. I was getting ready to… Shadow Travel, I think, over to the camp of the enemy. I was already dizzy from doing it so much. I was about to jump again when _someone_ came over to me. Guess who?"

Bianca, who always loved our stories and telling her own, piped up with an abundance of guesses. "Piper? Leo? _Me_? Thalia? Jason? Reyna?"

I rolled my eyes. "Nope. _Solace_. With his friends Cecile and Lou Ellen."

Hazel giggled. "Who, your _boyfriend_?"

I flicked her arm, stuffing a bit of pancake in my mouth. "Shut up. It was an accident."

I saw a few raised eyebrows, so Hazel decided to explain what I had accidentally said. After a _lot_ of laughter, I coughed loudly to get the attention back to me. "Okay, so, the first thing I said was something like, 'you're wearing full black with the sun coming up, with your faces painted, but your hair isn't covered _at all_. You might as well be waving a yellow flag.' He laughed and repeatedly stopped me shadow travelling over to the enemy."

Reyna frowned. "Do you reckon that Shadow Travelling and 'jumping' are the same thing?"

I chewed my lip and ruffled my hair, eating pancakes with my free hand. When we were little, we had this really silly imaginary world. It stopped when we were about twelve. When Mama died, it got very dark. I think Bianca died, but I'm unsure about it nowadays. I could summon skeletons, due to my gothic appearance. I think it was part of that. Percy started it when I met him. He made up the first bits. I do believe he got turned into a guinea pig, but that's another story.

"Yeah, they are. Do you remember Percy's silly imaginary world? I picked it up and added to it. You were the leader of the Jupiter camp, weren't you?"

We grinned at each other, then, all at once, we shouted, "We're dreaming about that!"

Bianca tapped me on the arm. "Didn't you kill me?"

My eyebrows rode up my head. "I was depressed, okay?"

We turned to Hazel. "Did _you_ have a dream?"

She cocked her head. "No, but I _do_ remember that Percy and Annie fell to hell on Jason's birthday. In yours and Percy's little imagination thing."

Reyna nodded. "Tartarus, from Greek Mythology!"

I cocked my eyebrow. "Why do you sound so _happy_?"

She chuckled. "I was happy I remembered."

I checked my watch. It was a tatty, leather, analogue watch. Mama got it in Italy before we left and she said it would make me a 'big boy'. "I gotta go in forty-five minutes."

Dad, who had been talking to Persephone in hushed tones, looked up, an amused look on his face, with a little questioning thrown in there. "Where?"

"Oh, Will and I are finishing up the video we're doing for the project," I replied, finishing up my pancakes.

Hades and Persephone gave me amused looks. "Oh, yes?"

I gave him a dark look. My best death stare. "Yes."

He shut up.

After watching 'Show 'Em What You're Made Of' (it's a British TV show) on catch-up for a while, I walked to the bus stop at ten, sitting there in the moderately cold weather. (For fuck's sake, America! It's September! It should be warm!) I opened up my phone. A message came through from the friends' chat.

 **SeaweedBrain: Hey whos up?**

 **WiseGirl: Me!**

 **SparkingGrace: Me!**

 **DeathAngel: Me!**

 **SeaweedBrain: Woah Nico ur up?**

 **DeathAngel: Yeah, why?**

 **SparkingGrace: Hes got a point. U never wake up past 10 30**

 **RepairBoy joined the chat**

 **DeathAngel: It's 'he's', 'you' and '10:30', dumbass.**

 **SparkingGrace: Answer the fucking question**

 **DeathAngel: There was no question ;)**

 **WiseGirl left the chat**

 **SparkingGrace: Bloody hell Nico stop being pedantic**

 **DeathAngel: Pedantic is my middle name. I'm waiting for the bus.**

 **SeaweedBrain left the chat**

 **RepairBoy left the chat**

 **SparkingGrace: Erm… its not 3 yet**

 **DeathAngel: Never said I was doing my weekly stint down to the graveyard…**

 **SparkingGrace: Pe Dan Tic**

 **DeathAngel: That's not being pedantic. I'm going to Solace's to hang out and finish the project.**

 **RepairBoy: Oh are you now?**

 **DeathAngel: Yes. I. Am.**

 **RepairBoy: Im just messin with ya nico**

 **DeathAngel: Did you hear what happened last night?**

 **SparkingGrace: Not as far as im aware but we DID here that Solace calls you angel**

 **DeathAngel: Yeah, he does. It's a nickname between friends, so you can shut the fuck up.**

 **Sparking Grace: Jeeeeezzzzz**

 **DeathAngel: Long story short, Octavian and Rachel somehow pissed off their dad. Luke and he apologised for EVERYTHING in McDonalds**

 **SparkingGrace: …**

 **RepairBoy: No fucking way**

 **DeathAngel: Oh, you bet**

I laughed. Pedantic. Such a cool word. Solace messaged me and my heart leapt a little.

 **SolaceShine: Mornin', Angel**

I chuckled slightly. That sounded like a couples' text. Not that I was complaining. It was cute and made me feel special.

 **DeathAngel: Mornin', Sunshine**

 **SolaceShine: How are you?**

 **DeathAngel: I'm great, thanks! You?**

 **SolaceShine: Same, really. Good gods, you're enthusiastic!**

 **DeathAngel: What, I'm excited! XD**

 **SolaceShine: *rolling my eyes***

 **DeathAngel: Shut up**

 **SolaceShine: I didn't say anything…**

 **DeathAngel: Stop being pedantic!**

 **DeathAngel: …I'm… a total hypocrite**

 **SolaceShine: What?**

 **DeathAngel: Literally just had an entire argument on my friends' chat about whether or not I'm pedantic**

 **SolaceShine: You are**

 **DeathAngel: Oh be quiet…**

 **SolaceShine: Video call?**

I grinned instantly, hitting the 'call' button and selecting the 'video' option. "Hey, Sunshine!"

He flashed his blinding white teeth in a huge grin. "Hey, Angel!"

I shook my head slowly, flexing my freezing cold hand. "These nicknames… People will think you're my boyfriend."

He chuckled. "I wouldn't mind it."

I stuck my tongue out at him childishly. "Oh, be quiet."

He only chuckled more. "Oi, Kayla…" he began, talking to someone out of my line of sight. "No more water, Kay… You already soaked me to the skin this morning…"

Will's eyes widened and he cupped a hand over his ear. I did the same with one of my hands. "DAD!" one of his brothers bellowed.

Their Dad began talking to Kayla and I heard a loud sigh. He chuckled sheepishly. "Sorry 'bout that."

It was my turn to chuckle. "No problem, Sunshine. So, she soaked you to the skin this morning?"

He groaned. "Second I woke up. Drenched to the skin with iced water."

I visibly winced at the thought of ice water sloshing on my face early in the morning. "Oh, snap."

Will laughed. "Yeah, it wasn't pleasant."

"I feel sorry for you," I giggled, hunching my shoulders to warm up my freezing ears with my fur collar.

"Nice coat," he noticed, titling his phone slightly to get a better look. "Great, in fact. The collar's cool. Is it leather?"

I nodded, turning bright red, pursing my lips a little. "Yeah. The fur isn't real, though. Bianca got it for me when she went on a school trip to Italy last year."

Will cocked his head, confused. "You go to Italy in the grade above us?"

I nodded, putting a hand over my mouth. "Fuck, I wasn't supposed to say that."

He laughed. "Don't fret, I won't tell anyone."

I rolled my eyes. "She brought a lot of money just to get me something from our home country."

"Your sister's sweet," he commented.

I shook my head. "I suppose. She can also be a right pain in the ass."

"To be expected with sisters," he shot back.

We chuckled. I saw the bus. "Hang on, I'm going to have to call you off. Bus is here."

"See ya, Angel," he grinned.

"See ya, Sunshine," I replied, holding out my hand for the bus.

I sat down in one of the seats. After me, a man came onto the bus and sat down beside me. The bus was pretty crowded, I get it, but there was at least three double-seats free on the bottom deck and about ten on the top deck, from what I could see on the little camera screen. His very presence made me uncomfortable. I anxiously bit my lip and ruffled my hair.

 **DeathAngel: Will… I'm a little scared**

 **SolaceShine: What's up?**

 **DeathAngel: Call me superstitious, but there's a man sitting next to me and his presence is making me scared as fuck… :-(**

 **SolaceShine: Calm down, Angel. Don't worry. Just move if you feel really uncomfortable. ;-)**

My heart leapt up in my throat and I smiled in spite of myself. ' _Will_ always _knows how to make me feel better,'_ I thought happily and giddily about my crush.

 **DeathAngel: Thanks, Sunshine**

 **SolaceShine: I love these nicknames. Seriously.**

 **DeathAngel: Thanks, I guess.**

 **SolaceShine: No problem ;-p**

I ruffled my hair and blushed a little, biting my lip as hard as I could. I was terrified. It was so irrational and unreasonable, but he gave off a strange air that made me nervous. I tasted blood in my mouth. I ran my tongue over the painful slit in my lip. I bite the skin off my lips a lot, but that one _really_ hurt. I sucked in my lips and tried not to bite them until the cut stopped bleeding. I swapped onto the chat with my friends. I'd only lost about 4% of my phone battery, but that was going to go pretty quickly if I spent all day on my phone. Hopefully, with Solace, I wouldn't.

 **DeathAngel: Hey, how is everyone?**

 **BeautyQueen: Im good thx you?**

 **DeathAngel: I'm great, thanks!**

 **BeautyQueen: No offense but great? Srsly u never say great**

 **DeathAngel: Umm… Scroll up, Pipes**

 **BeautyQueen: All I can see is them teasing you…**

 **DeathAngel: I know you're being sarcastic so I'm not going to explain it… Don't expect me to fall for it that easily**

 **BeautyQueen: Awwwww…**

 **SparkingGrace: No fear im here to explain!**

 **DeathAngel: Oh, shit… I'm waiting to see the awful explanation, right here, right now…**

 **SparkingGrace: Hes spending the day with his boyfriend**

 **BeautyQueen: Wut the hell…. Ohhh, right. Solace**

 **DeathAngel: No shit, Sherlock: he's joking. Did you actually scroll up?**

 **SparkingGrace: No I told her we were teasing you**

 **DeathAngel: Of course…**

 **BeautyQueen: Don't worry I wont tease you**

 **DeathAngel: Thanks so much, Pipes.**

I sighed, switching to Magic Piano and opening up the one Bianca had composed for me: Soldatino. Eventually, I remembered my endless data. I opened up Audible and opened up my audiobook of Sherlock.

I eagerly hopped off the bus, running the two streets towards Will's house. I knocked on the door and Will opened it, a huge endearing grin plastered on his face. My feet and arms moved out of their own accord, giving Will a light hug. His face exploded into a huge blush as he put his arm around my upper pack. My own arms were enveloping his lower back, due to his towering height. I heard two giggles and a click, followed by a murmur of, "Priceless."

Will blushed even harder. "Well, that was unexpected."

My face was even redder than Will's."Eh, sorry, I don't know what came over me."

Kayla snickered. "Wow, Sunny."

We headed up to his room, where he, as expected, opened his laptop and invited me to come and sit next to him. We managed to finished the video within the hour. "Fifty-five minutes," Will announced, closing the programme. We both cheered, until chuckles broke through our whoops. Within seconds, we were laughing uncontrollably. Just the feeling of being able to laugh comfortably with a friend, simply because you finished the thing that brought you together, gave me a warm feeling in my chest. When our giggles had died down, Will sent off the document to Chiron and we sat around his room, chatting aimlessly.

"Want to play Horror Stories, Angel?" he asked me.

I nodded. "I've got a good one."

Will grinned. "Go ahead."

"Disclaimer, this didn't happen to me, but I'm telling it in first person."

He grinned again. "I'm intrigued. Go on."

"I have a bed with those long sheets that brush the floor and close off the compartment underneath me. There's also I plug socket behind there. I usually charge my phone from there and put it on my nightstand. I have an alarm set for precisely six in the morning. One morning, my alarm woke me up at some ungodly hour. I checked my phone. The fuck? It was three. The alarm was called 'Down'. I assumed it was my brother messing with me, so I binned the alarm and went back to sleep."

I grinned softly. I already had Will entranced. "The next day, my brother swore he had _nothing_ to do with it. I passed it off as me doing it while I was had asleep. That night, my alarm went off at one past three. It was called 'Under'. I was seriously pissed with whoever was doing it (I was suspecting my _dad_ at this point), so I cancelled the alarm and set a password on my phone, sticking it behind my headboard.

The _next_ morning, I woke up at two past three, with an alarm called 'The'. I did another password, deleted the alarm, and went back to sleep.

The _next_ morning, I woke up to an alarm called 'Bed'. I groaned when I saw the low charge on my phone. Still highly pissed with whoever it was, I reached under the bed to get my charger. Then it hit me: the alarms spelled out 'Down Under The Bed'."

Will gave a sharp gasp. I realised he had a similar set up: his phone on his bedside table and a charger under the bed. Fuck, I hadn't meant to scare him. I gave him a light hug, and we both blushed furiously. We were sat opposite each other, so I took his hands. He squeezed them tight.

"Before I could jerk back into bed, I felt a hand grab my arm. I let out the shrillest scream a boy ever could. My parents ran into the room, my dad holding his baseball bat. He knocked out the man under the bed when he saw me being dragged under the bed. It turned out the man was a runaway from a mental asylum. He had been arrested ten times and he was a registered sex offender for life, getting pleasure from harassing young children.

The thing that disturbs me is that this man had been in my house, under my bed for four days…"

After a few seconds, Will took a shaky breath. "Woah… I don't know how I can beat that."

I just stared at my lap, ashamed. "I'm so sorry for scaring you."

Will placed his forehead against mine again, a common practice for us. "I don't mind, Nico. Thanks for noticing."

We stayed like that for a little while, until Kayla screamed, "LUNCH!"

We ran downstairs. Kayla and Austin had spread a mass of _stuff_ on the table. Scotch eggs, cocktail sausages, celery sticks, cold chicken wings, cucumber, tomatoes, you name it, it was there. I was rather surprised when Will told me to grab what I wanted and come upstairs. In _my_ house, it's strictly dining-room only for food. I did as I was told. When we got up there, Will asked me what shows I liked.

"I like 'Show Me What You're Made Of'," I told him.

He cocked an eyebrow. "Oh, I've never heard of that."

"It's British," I confessed.

We binge-watched the first series until two. I nudged him. "Do you remember what you said about three?"

He nodded. "The graveyard? Of course."

I smiled at him, taking his hand again. "Can we go get some flowers? I forgot to get some on my way up."

He nodded. "Sure. There's a cart on the way there. Meg often helps out there."

I cocked an eyebrow. "Who? Oh, Meg! Kayla's friend, right?"

He nodded. "That's the one. Yeah, as I was saying, she helps out there."

I tried to remember the names of the other two that worked there. "Miranda and… Katie, was it?"

"Her older sister, yeah. Katie's the oldest. Y'know Julia and Alice?"

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, yeah, I know. Their adopted brothers are Travis and Conner and Conner's dating Katie Gardener."

He raised an eyebrow. "Okay, then. That's that I was going to say, so… yeah."

We chuckled. "We'll go at twenty-five past, so we can finish this episode."

When it got to the time Will had set, I buttoned up my jacket and slipped on my shoes. We began to walk down to the graveyard. I refused to look at my crush for fear I might tear up or blurt out my feelings in my fragile state. It was silent and Will sensed I wanted it that way. I took one move to close the gap between us. I stopped and wrapped my arms around him, hugging him hard, burying my face in his chest. He ruffled my hair with one hand, the other around my back, smiling. "Hey, hey," he smiled. "Y'alright, Angel?"

I nodded into his chest. "Are… are you sure you want to come with me? I get _really_ emotional."

He rolled his eyes, ruffling my hair once more, before beginning to walk again, in step with me. "Of course. I want to be there for you."

I smiled sadly. In a small voice, I murmured, "Thanks."

We stayed close for the rest of the walk. We walked right beside each other and we were fiercely gripping each other's hands. We got to the Gardener's stand, which was situated on the grass at the edge of the park, with flowers arranged around it in buckets and pots. I pulled out my skull wallet. I immediately loved a bunch I saw. It had yellow lilies with orange and red tips, yellow and red roses, and lots of other red, yellow, and orange flowers I just couldn't name. I looked at the label. Five dollars. I handed over the flowers at the stand. Katie removed the label and put my five-dollar bill in her register.

Will squeezed my hand. "I'm sure she'll love them."

Katie, who's a kindly and polite soul, gave us a genuine smile when she heard this. "Oh, they're for a girl, are they? I'm sure the girl's amazing and lovely to warrant such beautiful flowers!"

I'm pretty sure Katie and I remember this incident _very_ well. Every time we make eye contact in school, I can _see_ it rushing through her mind. She confessed that it's not the worst 'assumption' she's made since they started the stand five years ago, but it was the one she felt the worst about. I've told her it's fine _many_ times, but…

Will and I shot each other looks. I cracked a grin. "Yeah, she…" I looked at Will. "Erm… was or is?"

I saw realisation in Katie's eyes. "Oh… I'm so sorry, Nico!"

It always surprises me when someone from school I don't know still knows my name and says it in public, so it sorta shocked me when Katie said my name. "It's alright. In case you're unsure, they're for my mama at the graveyard." I cringed when I said my name for her in public.

She just smiled. "Aww, Nico, that's a sweet name!"

"Bye!" we called.

"Bye! Have a good day!" she chirped.

It took her. I can't believe it took her. Will and I go down to the grave almost every day together, nowadays. He comforts me as we sit together. However, the first time, was the best.

I talked to Mama, in Italian sometimes, so Will wouldn't hear me saying how special he was, and how much I wanted him. Then, in Italian, I whispered, "I miss you so much, Mama," before sobbing. I reached out towards Will for his warmth and kindness. I was immediately accepted into his warm arms. I felt him wrapping his arms around my anorexic body and I suddenly felt _very_ self-conscious. I gulped down my sobs, shaking violently.

Will held me tenderly, ruffling my hair and holding my back as I cried into his chest. He was holding my cold hand with his warm one, tracing hearts and 'it's alright' onto the back. I shuddered every now and then when I realised how sexually close I was to my beautiful crush. I was soaking his chest and shoulders with my tears and I was gripping the back of his hoodie blindly in anger. I pulled him close and buried my face into his hoodie. Gods, how I loved him. We may as well have been dating, with all the hand-holding and cuddling. At the time, I couldn't see it. "Shh, Nico. I'm not going to pretend that I understand, because what you're going through is too awful for me to comprehend. Just know that we can get through this, me and you. Your Mama may not be here anymore, but you still have amazing memories of her and pictures to look back on. It's going to be alright, Angel. I promise," he whispered.

It was true, every word of it. And I loved him more with every word. I nodded, finding it hard to speak through my tears. "Th…" I gulped. "Thank you, Sunshine, thank you."

He whispered, "My Angel," to me into the silence as he held me. Every time he said it, it made me shuddered. Still, I would whisper back with, "My Sunshine."

I looked up into his beautiful eyes. I could think of thousands of ways to describe the colour blue, but none could quite describe the amazing colour of his dreamy eyes. I was finally able to relax my hands, lacing them together. My eyes were teary and red-rimmed, but he looked at them as if they were pure gold.

I screamed, sobbed, and cursed. I cursed my life and the unfairness of her death, yelling how I wanted to die. "Hush, Angel, hush," he whispered to me, holding the back of my head with his warm hand. "You don't want to die, Nico. You're angry that the crash took your Mama."

"I do! I do!" I screamed into the shoulder of my friend, blinded by pure anger. "I hate you! I hate you!"

"No you don't, Angel. I know you don't. You don't want to die, do you?"

My anger dissipated at the sound of his soothing voice. "No… no, I don't. I.. I'm angry. Why… why did it take her?"

"Hush, Angel, hush," he murmured.

I pressed my forehead to his, my nose to his. "Ca… Can we go?"

He pulled me to my feet slowly and reached out to dry my eyes with his sleeve. I breathed in the strong smell of Bianca's lavender perfume from the furry collar of my coat, before taking Will's and beginning to walk. Occasionally, I would give him my family smile and squeeze his hand, to reassure him that I wanted him there, and to show my gratitude.

Well, wasn't it stupid of me to expect _not_ to see Jules-Albert? He slipped out of his little hut and walked over towards me. "Hey, Nico," he greeted kindly. "Are you alright?"

I had met Jules when I first came to the grave on my own when I was ten and had a crying breakdown. I allowed him to help me, but, when I was twelve, I began to push him away. Nowadays, I have conversations with me, but I don't push him away anymore, even though it's Will and Will alone that cares for me now. I had changed a little by the time Will first met Jules, so I already felt more open.

"I'm fine, thank you, Jules-Albert," I replied, shaking his hand. "Will's been a great help."

I saw mischief twinkling in his old, sunken eyes. He laughed slowly and roughly. "Is Will your boyfriend?"

' _Damn you, Jules!"_ I thought, though I was happy we could be recognised as a couple together. I gave a hasty chuckle. "Oh, no, nothing like that, sir. He's my… best friend."

Jules shook his head, another rough laugh escaping his pale lips. "I'm glad you're alright, Nico," he replied, turning to Will, who squeezed my hand. "Would you mind if I got you alone for a moment, sir?"

Will smiled at me. "Not at all."

I watched as he talked to Jules, shifted between my feet and hugging my thin waist, self-conscious. Will was smiling when he got back to me, and my heart melted. I gave him my family smile and took his hand as we walked out together.

I haven't answered an unknown call since 'it' happened. I instantly switched to my deeper American accent, much to Will's disappointment.

"Hello?"

"Greetings," the voice greeted. I didn't like the voice. "You wouldn't happen to be Nico di Angelo, would you?"

Erm… Stalk, much? Seriously?! "I'm sorry, I didn't hear that."

"I know you did, boy. Now, where are you? You're not shouting out the window with your prissy little sister."

It was _that_ creep. "It's that window creep."

My next thought was to call Hazel, to check if she was alright. That guy gave me a _bad_ feeling. And _very_ rightly so, I must say now. "Hey, Hazel."

"Hey, Neeks, how are you?"

"Yeah, I'm good," I droned, wanting to cut to the chase.

"Did you visit the grave? Are you alright?" she asked.

"Will was a great help," I replied.

I could _feel_ her smirking the whole way from the park. "Oh, yeah? What went down?"

' _Oh, yeah, you're_ totally _still innocent, Hazel,'_ I thought, bitterly. ' _I'm not about to say anything, am I, idiot?! He's right next to me!'_ "I'll tell you later," I said.

"Alright," she grinned. "I'll be waiting for you, Nico. Don't leave _anything_ out. Oh, I saw the photo guy again."

"You saw the guy again?" I repeated, my suspicions being confirmed, before smiling my family smile at Will.

"What happened? You sound like you have something to tell," she realised.

' _Oh, what gave you_ that _idea?'_ I thought sarcastically. "He called me," I confessed.

"WHAT?!" she screamed.

"Yeah…" I muttered.

"He said 'you wouldn't happen to be Nico di Angelo, would you?' Then I told him that I was sorry but I couldn't hear him. Then he said, 'I know you did, boy. Now, where are you? You're not shouting out the window that your prissy little sister'," I recounted.

"Did you cut the call?" she asked, stunned.

At the time, I thought she was _way_ over-reacting, but, nowadays, I'm way more cautious than her. "Should we call the police?" she asked.

"No, it's probably a prank that's gone too far," I instructed.

"Bye, Nico, I'm doing somethin' with Reyna," she interrupted.

"Okay, bye, Haze," I sighed, clicking off the call and taking Will's warm, comforting hand again. "Stupid pranksters."


	13. Acting More Open - Will

**Sorry about all the Ark Survival crap halfway through. I had Writer's Block and I needed to drag myself through that clunky part. Apologies.**

"Uhh…" Kayla groaned.

I kicked my feet up onto the couch from my position stretched across the floor in the lounge. "What's wrong, Kay?"

"We were chatting about our different teacher from our years at the school. I was moaning about Mr Swinamer, my RP teacher that Nico miraculously _hadn't_ had murdered yet. I loved comfortably chatting to Nico as if nothing else mattered.

"I'm booooored!" my embarrassing little sister moaned.

I remembered a horror story. It couldn't beat Nico's, definitely not, but it would certainly creep them out. "Wanna hear something scary?"

Kayla nodded enthusiastically, typically a sucker for stories like this. Nico wasn't amused. He frowned. "Don't tell her 'Down Under The Bed', Sunshine," he ordered in low tones.

The nickname killed the threatening mood of his sentence, but it was cute none the less. "Don't worry, I won't. This is the story called 'The Little Red Girl'."

Kayla was instantly intrigued. "I'm intrigued. Just get up first. I can't talk you seriously when you're sitting like that."

I got up and sat next to Will, Kayla beside me.

"In the story, there's four older brothers, and a big sister, with one little sister. For this story, I'll use me, Kayla, Austin, Lee, and Michael," I exclaimed.

They both nodded apprehensively. "Sure."

"I was talking to Austin and Victoria about college outside of the master bedroom, Michael and Lee were talking about college inside Lee's room, and Kayla was playing on her own inside of the master bedroom. Suddenly, she started screaming hysterically. I burst in with Austin and Vicky. She was crying madly, throwing books, toys, and pillows into this one corner of the room. I gasped, saying, 'Kayla, what's wrong?'

She opened her mouth and yelled indignantly at me, pointing at the corner of the room. 'Tell the little red girl I don't wanna play with her!'

We screamed at Lee and Michael to run out the house as we charged outside with Kayla. We headed to McDonald's to get her a Happy Meal to calm her down. We remembered she had made a _huge_ mess inside the room, so we went in to clean it up. Everything. Was. Already. Tidied away. We bumped into our neighbour outside of our house while running again. He asked us inside his house and Kayla drew the 'Little Red Girl' on the paper our neighbour had given her to draw on with his little sister. She said, 'The Little Red Girl is in a picture over there!' The girl in the picture had a black braid and a red jean dress, with white tights and scarlet shoes. He stiffened. 'That's my sister.'"

Nico took a breath. "My _god_."

Kayla whistled, eyes wide. "Wo-oah! Nice one, Sunny!"

Nico and I chuckled. "Thanks, Kay!" I grinned.

Nico nudged me. "Hey, have you seen Annie69?"

"Yes! It was a dare from Meg last year. I can't _believe_ that's real."

"She probably got kidnapped for something. You know, the guy takes her and tortures her in his basement or something stupid," Nico sighed, playing with his hair.

Victoria had been reading on the other couch (as usual), but she looked up for the first time in hours. "I'm getting my friend to write a sequel to that," she grinned, picking up her phone. I sighed quietly. She was talking about her friend Lillian, who's _obsessed_ with writing. She never puts down her notebook, and she goes through one notebook in two weeks or something stupid. "Lillian… Lillian… Lillian… Lillian!"

"God, she's gonna be reading the dictionary soon," I commented when she had picked up her book again.

I chuckled, along with Kayla and Nico. Then, Nico saw my Artemis Fowl book laying by Vicky's feet. "Artemis Fowl?"

I nodded indifferently, shrugging. "Read," he snapped, making me chuckle.

"Sure, Angel."

Kayla's eyes just lit up. "Oh! Oh! Can you start from the beginning?" she asked.

I looked at Nico, irritated at Kayla. "Nico?"

He shrugged. "Yeah, sure."

Kayla embarrassed me again.

When I got up to Chapter 5, she jumped up and started goofing around, doing Holly Short impressions. Not wanting to seem like a spoilsport of a brother, I started messing around with my hair and pretending to be Juliet. Nico stood up and began ordering us around in a pretentious Irish accent. "I do hope this isn't another wild goose chase, Butler," he intoned in that smarmy impression of Artemis, before dissolving into laughter, along with me and Kay.

Austin walked in, holding a poetry book. He stopped at stared at our laughter, totally confused. Nico gasped a little. "Wait… Wait…" he stood and straightened his t-shirt. "Madame, I have a proposition for you," he began in his Irish accent, before bursting into laughter again.

Then, I looked at the clock. " _Je-e-e-sus_! Is it four _already_?"

Nico got a text. I read over his shoulder, interrupting him when he began to say that he had to go. However, what interrupted _me_ interrupting Nico was another text.

 **FortuneTeller: Hey will do ya wanna come over? Lou, Cecile and callie are coming!**

 **SolaceShine: Sure, it's a date!**

 **FortuneTeller: Will you're gay…**

 **SolaceShine: Not literally!**

I tapped out a couple of messages, before looking back to Nico. "No problem. I've just been asked to go 'round the Dares place."

He furrowed his brow. "Did you read my texts?"

I grinned, guilty. "May-be?"

He chuckled, waving his hand dismissively. "See ya, Sunshine."

We edged towards each other and closed the gap with a hug. He leant into my chest and I tightened my hold on him. "Bye, Angel," I whispered into his ear.

I closed the door after watching him walk down the path and waving at him.

I knocked on the door to the Dares' house. Before anyone could answer, a shoe fell out one of the upstairs windows. Presumably Octavian's room. I heard Luke Castellan yell, "Fuck you, Ocky, that was my shoe!"

I chuckled, then Rachel opened the door, sighing. "Sorry about them," she groaned. "Come in."

We were sat around in her living room, chatting about what we'd been doing before we came over.

"I was in the park when Rachel called us over," Cecile began. "I was eating my _very_ late lunch on a bench when a bird came down and _grabbed_ my sandwich. I gave it this glare and it just _dropped_ my food and flew away!"

"A death glare," Rachel began.

"You sound like Nico," I muttered.

Callie heard me and laughed heartily. "You're _obsessed_ with the boy!" she laughed.

I blushed furiously. "Oh, be quiet."

Rachel grinned. "You a-are!" she trilled in a sing-song voice.

Callie opened her mouth, and out tumbled the insensitive, off-handed, remark. "Hope he doesn't end up like Luke, eh?" she commented.

A stony silence fell over our little group. Lou grinned, shattering the atmosphere. "Yeah, you got turned down in the _dust_!"

I listened as the painful jokes just _rolled_ on in. Halfway through, I pulled out my phone and messaged Nico.

 **SolaceShine: Cecile and Lou are driving me MAD!**

 **DeathAngel: How?**

 **SolaceShine: Keep bringing up Luke and pretending to be him rejecting me :(**

 **DeathAngel: Ouch.**

After what felt like days, but in reality, was only half an hour, I'd had enough. "I'm going," I stated obnoxiously loudly.

Suddenly, all at once, they realised how rude and horrid they were being, but I had already left and begun to walk towards the bus stop. I sat down heavily in a seat after scanning my bus card. Gods, my friends were idiots.

 **SolaceShine: Now on the bus going home.**

 **DeathAngel: Actually, same. The gang were pissing me off really bad…**

 **SolaceShine: Ouch. What were they doing?**

 **DeathAngel: They kept teasing me about being friends with you, so I walked away and yelled at Hazel. I told her about how you had helped me earlier today. Thanks again, by the way.**

I smiled a little. Honestly, I just wanted to help him.

 **SolaceShine: They** _ **are**_ **going to stop, right?**

 **DeathAngel: Yeah. I hope Hazel's gonna tell them.**

 **SolaceShine: It's no problem, Angel. You needed it.**

 **DeathAngel: Aww thanks.**

 **SolaceShine: No problem**

There was something… off… about his texts. As if he was sad. I don't know why, but I could just _feel_ it. Nico says it's because of the 'soulmate' thing. Gods, I fell for him hard, didn't I?

When he answered the call, he was wiping his eyes with his hands in breathing in the smell of the collar of his jacket. "Oh, Angel, what's the matter?" I asked, worried that I had upset him.

"Nothin', Sunshine," he sighed, giving me a sad version of that smile, making my heart utterly melt. "Just thinking about what I said to Hazel."

"Hey, you said the right thing. It's alright," I comforted.

He nodded a little, breathing heavily to calm down. "Thanks, Will," he replied, giving me his special smile that made my heart melt. "Do you want to go the the park together tomorrow?"

I grinned, _probably_ looking like a maniac while doing it. "Awesome! The one near mine?!

He cocked his head a little, messing around with his hair. "Yeah. I can take the bus over at quarter-past eleven and get there at twelve. That okay?"

I did a little math inside my head. "Yeah, that's _great_!" I exclaimed.

I heard a buzz from Nico's phone. "Sorry, gotta go. Bianca wants me to call her."

"Yeah, sure! See ya tomorrow!" I grinned, cutting the call, probably a bit too quickly. He probably thought I was trying to get rid of him.

When I got home, Kayla was _immediately_ excited to see me, for a reason I just couldn't fathom. She kept nervously checking her phone, for a start. Not the kind you do when you're waiting for a message. You know, scrolling up and down a message conversation. She was also _very_ intent on making eye contact with me, and she kept speaking _way_ louder and clearer than she usually did. She also repeated a _lot_ of whatever nonsense she was babbling about. I think it was a story from school but I was _way_ too busy being weirded out by her behaviour to notice. I went up to my room and looked under my bed, before plugging my phone into the charger.

 **SolaceShine: Kayla's gone weird.**

 **TropicalPunch: Such as?**

 **SolaceShine: Hellbent on making eye contact, speaking louder and clearer, repeating** _ **everything**_ **and checking her phone** _ **all**_ **the time.**

 **FortuneTeller: Maybe she's FINALLY practising that stupid active listening shit they teach you in her grade!**

 **SolaceShine: Very funny. I'm waiting for Austin to come up and ask me about it. Or Tori. Or Michael. Or Lee. Or anyone really.**

So, apparently, I wasn't to only one with odd siblings problems at that time.

 **DeathAngel: Curse that meddling matchmaker!**

 **SolaceShine: Sounds like a weird episode of Scooby Doo. Oh, gods, what did Piper do now?**

 **DeathAngel: She said to Haze that if she did all these odd, counselling-like things that it would get me to talk more openly with her.**

 **SolaceShine: Such as?...**

 **DeathAngel: Speaking so loudly half the street hears her, and so clearly she butchers her adorable New Orleans accent, downright** _ **refusing**_ **to break eye contact with me, and repeating something if I so much as said 'oh?!'**

 **SolaceShine: Ahh, that solves** _ **my**_ **problem, then.**

 **DeathAngel: Oh, what's the problem, Sunshine?**

 **SolaceShine: The exact same as yours.**

 **DeathAngel:** _ **Really**_ **?**

 **SolaceShine: The very same. She must've gone up to Piper for advice. I'm open enough already, though…**

The reality hit home: _She was trying to set me up with Nico._ Both Kay and Hazel had gone up to her and she had told them the same thing, the stupid little matchmaker.

 **SolaceShine: Shit. She's tryna set me up with someone.**

 **DeathAngel: I'm not** _ **really**_ **open** _ **at all**_ **with my family, so that solves** _ **my**_ **problem.**

 **SolaceShine: Oh yeah?**

 **DeathAngel: Sorry, I gotta go. I'm being** _ **forced**_ **to be social.**

 **SolaceShine: LOL! Hope you survive!**

 **DeathAngel: Well,** _ **thanks**_ **, Sunshine!**

 **SolaceShine: Bye, Angel.**

 **DeathAngel: See ya, Sunshine.**

Soon enough, Austin came up, exclaiming, "What the heck is wrong with Kayla?!"

"Oh, I _know_!" I sympathised. "She's tryna set me up with Di Angelo. All the _strange_ stuff she's doing: it's to get us/me to talk more, quote on quote, ' _openly'_."

Austin sighed, sitting down heavily on my computer chair. "So, it's _your_ fault, then?"

I waved my hands wildly in a panic. "No, no, that's not what I meant at _all_!"

Austin burst out laughing. "I'm teasin' ya, Sunny. See ya – I gotta go do homework."

I sighed as he left. "Uhhh, _brothers_!" I groaned.

Kayla opened up the door. "Ka-a-a-a-ay!" I moaned. "Go aw-a-a-a-a-ay!"

She laughed. Oh, _phew_ , she was back to normal. "Hey, Sunny-boy!"

"Hey, Kay," I replied, moodily.

"Got any homework?" she asked stiffly, trying awkwardly to make conversation.

"Nah," I grinned easily. "Got it all done last night."

"Well, I…" Kayla seemed to blatantly give up trying to have a conversation, as she threw her hands up, muttering "Fuck you, Piper," as she stalked out of my room.

Victoria came in next. "Ark?" she suggested.

I grinned, happy to get away from my two awkward siblings. "Oh, go on then."

We headed into her room and got out our laptops. I sat on her bed, my plug-in mouse resting on an Atlas so I could move it.

"RUN!" Victoria yelled, mashing her controls in hopes of getting away from the hoard of raptors that had sprung on us while we laboriously broke into someone's base.

I jumped into the sea. Victoria shrieked in irritation. "Not in _there_ , you dolt! You don't have your snorkel with you!"

I surfaced, only to see the snowflake in the corner of my screen gently flashing. "Shit. Vicky, do you have a fire?"

Two figures ran over to us. One was a boy dressed in all black, the other a girl with a long braid.

 _ **Ark Chat:**_

 **DeathBoy: Need a fire, Sunshine?**

 **DoctorsOrders: Oh, hi!**

 **DeathBoy: That's our base you were trying to break into. One of the best on the server.**

 **WeHaveAnArmy: How many of you?**

 **A** **urumArgentum: SeaweedBrain, WiseGirl, Superman, TomboyAndDangerous, CanadianAndProud, GoldDigger, ONFIRE, DeathBoy, me, and BowsAndArrows.**

 **DoctorsOrders: I can guess… Can you help us get back to our base? We're kinda lost.**

 **AurumArgentum: Sure, let me just make you our allies…**

 **SeaweedBrain: Already done!**

 **DeathBoy: Nice call, Seaweed. C'mon, I happen to have been spying on your base the other week…**

So that's how the rest of the night went. A highlight of our conversation was when I died…

 **Ark Chat:**

 **DoctorsOrders: Oh, fuck me.**

 **DeathBoy: NO.**

 **WeHaveAnArmy: OMG, WILL!**

 **DeathBoy: Lol, you could've worded that better, Sunshine. Did you die?**

 **DoctorsOrders: …Yes, I did. Also… NO, I didn't mean it like** _ **that**_ **, Angel!**

 **DeathBoy: I know that, Sunshine. Here, I've got your crossbow: RARA has everything else.**

 **AurumArgentum: Come to the front-ring watch tower of our base.**

 **DeathBoy: Now, Sunshine, I'd be intrigued to know how exactly you backed off the cliff…**

Then when Nico accidentally left his group and all their dinosaurs charged….

 **Ark Chat:**

 **DeathBoy: What the bloody fucking Hades did I do?!**

 **DoctorsOrders: What** _ **did**_ **happen?** _ **Everything**_ **is chasing you.**

I was in the cold and dark stone crafting room in their base with Reyna, forging awesome new swords for their gang and ours.

 **SeaweedBrain: DeathBoy left our group.**

 **WiseGirl: ADD HIM BACK IN THEN!**

 **SeaweedBrain: Invite sent.**

 **DeathBoy: Accepted, but I'm really low on heath. Sunshine, I assume you carry around medical stuff?**

 **DoctorsOrders: Yeah,** _ **that's**_ **the technical term. I'm on my away.**

Then when I joined the call…

 **DoctorsOrders: Are you lot all in a call together?**

 **AurumArgentum: Yeah, why?**

 **DoctorsOrders: Can Vicky and I join?**

 **DeathBoy: Sure, I'll send you the call name and passcode. You** _ **do**_ **have CallXtra, right?**

 **DoctorsOrders: Yeah, I do.**

I got up and moved into my room, putting my laptop on my desk and turning on my mike. After the _pain_ of logging into CallXtra, I got onto their call. "Hey!"

Greetings flooded my way.

"Ciao, Sunshine!" Nico chirped.

"Hey, Angel!" I grinned.

"Wassup, Will?!"

"Hey, man!"

"Hi, Will!"

"Hey-ya, Solace."

I smiled. "Tori, not gonna say anything?" I called across the hall into her room.

She glowered at me, marching out of her room holding her mike. "Can't… attach… fucking… cable…"

I chuckled. "She can't get the cable into her mike."

Then when Hazel got tricked into directing her laptop to the Blue Death Screen of Doom…

"I was told that if you use this certain keyboard shortcut you can become OP in Ark…" Hazel began.

"What keyboard shortcut?" Nico asked, curious.

Hazel must have showed him the shortcut, because, in the midst of all the chatter, Nico gasped sharply. "Hazel, I…"

Hazel had been walking towards me and Reyna when she hit the shortcut. She walked into the crafting room and Reyna and I chirped out greetings, only for Hazel to talk right past us and begin repeatedly slamming into the far wall.

Nico sighed. "Dear gods, Hazel, you _are_ gullible, aren't you?"

Hazel groaned. "What do I do?!"

I heard someone smashing their head into their desk. "Oh. My. Gods. Hazel. Look, take out the bar from the back and hit the left button twice… Put it back in… There you go, now press shutdown and restart it in ten seconds…"

We all laughed, and everyone was calling her gullible. It was around ten or something when Nico, Hazel, and Reyna left for their family movie night and I went downstairs with Vicky for our nightly games.

I sighed. Kayla was carrying Monopoly into the living room. I sat down and picked up the top hat, dishing out the money to my siblings. We set up the rest of the board and began to play. Eventually, Michael and Lee were bankrupt, so they began talking about college on the couch while watching us play. It became a very back-and-forth game between Austin and Victoria, with me and Kayla just trying to survive the game. We were discreetly sharing our money out, always making sure we had an equal division of money between us. Eventually, Kayla and I had next to no money, so we grudgingly accepted bankruptcy and watched, Kayla browsing Twitter and me texting my friends.

 **TropicalPunch: Hey, Will. How are you?**

 **SolaceShine: Good, you?**

 **TropicalPunch: I'm great, thanks. What's up?**

 **SolaceShine: Just got crushed in a game of Monopoly. Third out after Michael and Lee.**

 **TropicalPunch: Who else is in?**

 **SolaceShine: Kay and I were sharing out our money between us and I let her go out later, so she went out the go after me. Austin and Victoria are even.**

 **TropicalPunch: It's** _ **always**_ **them.**

I sighed, feeling more tired than I should have. I told everyone I was going to sleep and headed upstairs. Nico sent me a SnapChat of him and Hazel lying together and I sent one back of me with my face down in the pillow, captioned 'Tireeeeddddd…'.

He sent back 'hahahahaha' and told me to sleep well. I told him the same thing and went to sleep.


	14. Acting More Open - Nico

**Sorry about all the Ark Survival crap halfway through. I had writers block and I needed something before I went nuts.**

"Uhh…" Kayla groaned.

"What's wrong, Kay?" Will asked, kicking up his feet (clad in one green sock and one blue sock) onto the couch. He was laying on the floor, head right next to the coffee table, with his feet on the couch, chatting with me about different teachers, mostly about this RP teacher I was apparently _really_ lucky I didn't have. I loved simply talking to Solace in his own house as if it was my own.

"I'm booooored!" she droned.

Will grinned wickedly. "Wanna hear something scary?"

She nodded eagerly. I frowned. "Don't tell her 'Down Under The Bed', Sunshine," I hissed. Calling him that nickname kinda ruined the mood, but I didn't care because I loved using it.

"Don't worry, I won't," he assured me. "This is the story called 'The Little Red Girl'."

Kayla sat up. "I'm intrigued. Just get up first. I can't talk you seriously when you're sitting like that."

He obeyed her, sitting beside me, with Kayla the other side of him. "In the story, there's four older brothers, and a big sister, with one little sister. For this story, I'll use me, Kayla, Austin, Lee, and Michael."

"Sure." Kayla and I nodded sceptically.

"I was talking to Austin and Victoria about college outside of the master bedroom, Michael and Lee were talking about college inside Lee's room, and Kayla was playing on her own inside of the master bedroom. Suddenly, she started screaming hysterically. I burst in with Austin and Vicky. She was crying madly, throwing books, toys, and pillows into this one corner of the room. I gasped, saying, 'Kayla, what's wrong?'

She opened her mouth and yelled indignantly at me, pointing at the corner of the room. 'Tell the little red girl I don't wanna play with her!'

We screamed at Lee and Michael to run out the house as we charged outside with Kayla. We headed to McDonald's to get her a Happy Meal to calm her down. We remembered she had made a _huge_ mess inside the room, so we went in to clean it up. Everything. Was. Already. Tidied away. We bumped into our neighbour outside of our house while running again. He asked us inside his house and Kayla drew the 'Little Red Girl' on the paper our neighbour had given her to draw on with his little sister. She said, 'The Little Red Girl is in a picture over there!' The girl in the picture had a black braid and a red jean dress, with white tights and scarlet shoes. He stiffened. 'That's my sister.'"

I took a sharp breath. "My _god_."

Kayla whistled. "Wo-oah! Nice one, Sunny!"

I chuckled, as did Will. "Thanks, Kay!" he chirped, making my heart melt.

I glanced at Will. "Hey, have you seen Annie69?"

"Yes!" he and Kayla chirped. He laughed. "It was a dare from Meg last year. I can't _believe_ that's real."

"She probably got kidnapped for something. You know, the guy takes her and tortures her in his basement or something stupid."

Victoria, who was reading (big surprise there) on the other couch, looked up, grinning. "I'm getting my friend to write a sequel to that," she grinned, picking up her phone and scrolling down the contacts. "Lillian… Lillian… Lillian… Lillian!"

She quickly sent a text message, before going back to whatever book she was reading. "God, she's gonna be reading the dictionary soon," Will muttered.

We chuckled. Then, I pointed to the golden book on the sofa. "Artemis Fowl?"

Will nodded. "Read," I ordered.

"Sure, Angel," he chuckled, picking it up.

Kayla bounced in her seat. "Oh! Oh! Can you start from the beginning?" she asked.

Will looked at me, an annoyed and uncertain look on his face. "Nico?"

I shrugged. "Yeah, sure."

We got to the start of Chapter 5 when Kayla started joking around that she was Holly Short. Will sighed and began twirling his short hair, pretending to be Juliet. Eagerly, I stood and started to be Artemis, giving them orders and speaking in an Irish accent. "I do hope this isn't another wild goose chase, Butler," I exclaimed in a flat, pretentious voice, before bursting out in laughter, long with the others.

Austin walked in on us in downright stitches, absolutely baffled by our laughter. "Wait… Wait…" I gasped quietly. "Madame, I have a proposition for you," I said in a smarmy Irish accent, before dissolving into laughter again.

Eventually, we realised that it was four. I got a text from Percy on the chat.

 **SeaweedBrain: Hey, guys! I wanted to have just our little gang around before the party next week! Are you all free?**

I looked up apologetically. "Hey, Sunshine, I…"

Before I could say anything else, he got a text too. He scrolled up and down the screen of his phone, looking up at me. "No problem. I've just been asked to go 'round the Dares place."

I narrowed my eyes suspiciously. "Did you read my text?"

He grinned sheepishly. "May-be."

I chuckled. "See ya, Sunshine."

He surprised each other by moving to give each other a hug. We leant into each other comfortably, totally comfortable in each other's arms. "Bye, Angel," he whispered.

I had a smile on my face as I left the door with my backpack. "Uhhh, fuck long bus rides," I groaned as I walked down to the bus stop. I was sat there for barely thirty seconds until Piper and her dad drove down the road in their car. She patted the seat beside her, opening the door. I accepted and climbed in. I had only met him once before: at Piper's swimming party when Octavian made fun of me wearing a rash vest because of my anorexia, and Percy had to be restrained from knocking him out. "Hello, Mr McLean," I greeted awkwardly.

"Hello, Nico," he greeted happily. "How are you?"

"I'm great, thank you," I replied.

Piper smirked at me, and my stomach flipped in worry. "Oh, he's 'great' because he's spent the day making out with his boyfriend."

I gave her my death glare and wiped the cocky grin off her face. I didn't like scaring something with my glare (for once) because I loved it when Solace ruffled my hair and called me cute when I did it. "Piper. Please. He's my _friend_."

"You take too much delight in calling him your best friend for an innocent friendship," she chuckled.

I clenched my fists. "Pi-i-i-i-i-per!" I moaned.

Mr McLean smiled softly in the mirror. "Piper…" he began in a warning tone. "Enough is enough."

She pouted and I chuckled. "One point to The Angel," I announced smugly.

When we got to Percy's, we clambered out and hastily thanked her dad, before rushing off. We knocked on the door and Sally answered, ushering us inside. "Hey, Perce," I grinned.

"Don't both taking your shoes off," Percy replied. "We're going to the skate park."

I smiled, waiting outside the door for them. "Oh," Percy realised. "You left your skateboard, helmet, and safeties here." Safeties are our name for our protective pads. I accepted the equipment, putting them in my backpack. We walked off to the park, joking and chatting. "So, I was at Rachel's yesterday…" Reyna began.

"Oooohhh!" we all exclaimed sarcastically.

"Shut up. Octavian has a girlfriend," she laughed.

"What?" the others gasped.

"He was making out with someone _really_ loudly in his room. It was hilarious," she smirked.

I rolled my eyes. "He actually has a _boy_ friend," I sighed.

"WHAT?!" they exclaimed.

I grinned. They were all shocked. Unreasonably, I might add. I made eye contact with Percy, and he got my message. "But…" he began. "He dated Annie!"

"Before he figured out he was gay," I completed.

Jason frowned at me. "Now, how did you find _that_ one out?"

"They apologised, as I said. Then I saw them… ahem… _making-out_ in McDonald's where we were," I explained tiredly.

Frank nodded slowly. "Ah, alright then."

I suddenly stopped, speaking in a warning tone. "Don't you dare tell anyone."

"We won't," they all promised at the same time. "We swear on Styx."

I nodded appreciatively. "Good."

When we got to the park, we hung around the swings. We're often mistaken for a big gang and we get avoided _quite_ a bit. However, Percy spotted a little girl anxiously skating around on the flat ground and going slowly down the short ramps. Percy walked over to her. "Hey, your feet are positioned wrong. Can I help?"

We spent a little while helping the little girl learn how to skate until a man with curly hair and goatee limped over to us. "Hey, what are you…" he began, clearly thinking we were ganging up on her.

"Hey, Daddy!" the girl chirped. "This is Per-see, and that's Wrey-a-na, and that's Nweek-ooh, and that's Lee-ew! They were teachin' me how to ska' board!"

The man's features softened. "Aw, have they, Pan?"

We all smiled at each other. The man walked over to us as Pan skateboarded around and went down the ramps. "Thank you so much for teaching my daughter how to skateboard."

We ignored the man's stutter, grinning happily. Then, he spotted Percy. "Oh, hello, Percy."

Percy grinned. "Grover!"

I poked him. "Who?"

"Oh, you met me _after_ , didn't you?" he realised.

"I guess."

"So, I was accused of stealing this stupid 'rare diamond', along with Annie. Grover here had to basically take us on the run for ten days until it died down," he explained.

"Holy Hephaestus!" I exclaimed, almost falling off my skateboard.

Reyna caught me. "Steady on, Neeks."

"Be quiet, MacaReyna," I shot back, a grin on my face.

"Juniper!" Grover called. "We're going now!"

"So," I asked. "Who _is_ that guy?"

"He's an old family friend, Grover is," Percy explained.

"Sound like Yoda, you do," Reyna grinned.

"Anyway, I was accused of stealing a diamond called the 'Lightning Bolt', along with Annabeth. To protect me, my mum told Grover to take us on the run for a while. I surprised I haven't told you this story before."

I raised my eyebrows. "So am I."

Piper grinned at me and my stomach dropped. I gave her my death glare. She whispered something to Jason and I was instantly nervous. Jason smirked deviously. "So, Nico, where were you when Percy text?" he asked cheekily.

I put my safeties back in my bag. "Oh, I was at Solace's," I replied nonchalantly.

Hazel grinned wickedly, whispering, "Sunshine, you mean," in my ear.

"Haze, be quiet!" I snapped.

She chuckled. "An-gel, an-gel!" she chanted irritatingly.

"What?" Frank asked, cocking his head.

She smirked. "Oh, it's what Solace calls him."

Everyone laughed loudly, all of them teasing me, poking me and asking when the wedding was.

And I snapped. I grabbed Hazel's wrists and pulled her away from the group. "Hazel," I began, holding her shoulders. "I go down to Mama's grave every Saturday. I don't sit and talk. I break down. I scream and sob and tell her how I want to die. Solace went down with me today. He held me and comforted me and told me it would be alright. He's not some stupid guy you can tease me about. He's my friend that's done more than that lot _ever_ could. Just…" I was crying, tears spilling from my eyes onto Hazel's t-shirt. "Stop…" I finished.

Hazel's arms flew around me in an instant. "Oh, Nico!" She held me close as I sobbed into her shoulder. "Hey," she murmured as he held me at arms length. "I won't tease you anymore, I swear. Will's been a great help to you, for a friend or something more. Are you alright?"

I nodded. "I'm going home. It's not that far, so I can walk."

"You sure?" Hazel asked worriedly.

I kissed her cheek. "I'm sure, Haze."

I turned on my heel and walked away.

I decided to take the bus. After texting Hazel to tell her, I got onto the bus and opened up my chat with Solace. After reading up a few of our messages, I got a message from him.

 **SolaceShine: Dear gods, Angel, help me!**

 **DeathAngel: Oh jeez, what's going on, Sunshine?**

 **SolaceShine: Cecile and Lou are driving me MAD!**

 **DeathAngel: How?**

 **SolaceShine: Keep bringing up Luke and pretending to be him rejecting me :(**

 **DeathAngel: Ouch.**

I waited about five minutes, then I got a reply.

 **SolaceShine: Now on the bus going home.**

 **DeathAngel: Actually, same. The gang were pissing me off really bad**

 **SolaceShine: Ouch. What were they doing?**

 **DeathAngel: They kept teasing me about being friends with you, so I walked away and yelled at Hazel. I told her about how you had helped me earlier today. Thanks again, by the way.**

 **SolaceShine: They** _ **are**_ **going to stop, right?**

 **DeathAngel: Yeah. I hope Hazel's gonna tell them.**

 **SolaceShine: It's no problem, Angel. You needed it.**

 **DeathAngel: Aww thanks.**

Every single time I even _texted_ Will, my heart started beating as fast as it could physically go.

 **SolaceShine: No problem**

Tears started leaking out of my eyes, remembering what I had said to Hazel. Then, I saw a video call request on my screen. I swiped it open, wiping my eyes with the back of my hand and breathing in the strong smell of my furry collar. "Oh, Angel, what's the matter?" he asked, worried.

"Nothin', Sunshine," I assured him. "Just thinking about what I said to Hazel."

"Hey, you said the right thing. It's alright," he chided.

I nodded, taking a deep breath. "Thanks, Will. Do you want to go to the park together tomorrow?"

He grinned endearingly. "Awesome! The one near mine?"

"Yeah. I can take the bus over at quarter-past eleven and get there at twelve. That okay?" I asked.

"Yeah, that's great!" he enthused.

I saw a message buzzing at the top of my screen. "Sorry, gotta go. Bianca wants me to call her."

"Yeah, sure!" he grinned. "See ya tomorrow!"

I video called Bianca quickly. "Hey!" she smiled.

"Hey, Bi," I replied.

She smiled a little. "Hey, Hazel called me and told me about what you said. I was just checking up on you."

"Oh, thanks. I'm alright, really. Solace helped, but…"

She smiled. "I reflect what Hazel said: He's been a great help to you, for a friend or something more."

We smiled together. "Thanks," I grinned, blowing a kiss at the screen.

She chuckled. "Wo-ow, Neeks. Bye."

"Bye. Have fun making out with Thalia!" I snickered.

"NICO!" she exclaimed.

"I'm joking, I'm joking. Bye!" I grinned.

"Bye," she sighed, clicking off the call.

I'd only been on the bus for thirty-five minutes when I realised it was coming up to my stop. I jumped off the bus and walked the one street to my house. When I unlocked the door, I took off my shoes and ran right to my room. I opened my laptop, laid down on my bed, and put on my headphones. I began playing 'How Far We've Come' and working on my English essay.

Okay, Hazel was being _really_ odd. I went downstairs to talk to her and she was being _weird_. She would _not_ break eye contact with me, even when I went to browse the bookshelf to take myself away from her downright creepiness. She was sat in a way that I _think_ was supposed to look open, but she looked _extremely_ awkward and uncomfortable. She was speaking very clearly, which wasn't bad, just _very_ noticeable. She almost wiped away her adorable accent, so I had to demand that she speak normally halfway through our conversation about what had gone on at the skatepark. She also spoke a _lot_ louder, and if you know Hazel, you'll know that she speaks _really_ loud already. She would repeat something if I so much as raised an eyebrow or said 'eh?'. Eventually, I got so fed up and weirded out that I went back upstairs and grabbed my phone.

 **DeathAngel: Did you lot do something to my sister?**

 **SeaweedBrain: Reyna or Hazel**

 **DeathAngel: Hazel, because by** _ **gods**_ **, is she being weird!**

 **PreatorGirl: Really? She wasn't being weird on the way home.**

 **DeathAngel: For the love of Zeus, just come into my room!**

 **PreatorGirl: Too black. Everything's black and grey in your room.**

 **DeathAngel: Fair point. Sure, just stay in your room and be antisocial. You're going to lose your voice one day from not using it.**

 **WiseGirl: Theoretically, it is possible. No, we didn't do anything to Hazel. Why'd you ask?**

 **BeautyQueen: Well,** _ **you**_ **didn't do anything…**

 **DeathAngel: She's raising her voice, repeating everything, sitting in what I think is meant to look like an** _ **open**_ **position, speaking so clearly she's demolishing her accent, and she was downright** _ **refusing**_ **to break eye contact with me. Piper, what did you do?**

 **BeautyQueen: Beats me how you type so perfectly**

 **DeathAngel: It's a natural habit. Now, stop avoiding the question!**

 **BeautyQueen: I told her that if you did those tactics subtly, note the subtly, then you would talk to her openly and more easily…**

 **DeathAngel: I can tell that that is absolutely, 100%** _ **not**_ **the whole truth, but I'll let it slide. Ahh, gods! I** _ **hate**_ **typing 'that that'! Why does the English language even** _ **allow**_ **that!?**

I scowled. Pi… per!" I growled, angrily switching to Solace's chat.

 **DeathAngel: Curse that meddling matchmaker!**

 **SolaceShine: Sounds like a weird episode of Scooby Doo. Oh, gods, what did Piper do now?**

 **DeathAngel: She said to Haze that if she did all these odd, counselling-like things that it would get me to talk more openly with her.**

 **SolaceShine: Such as?...**

 **DeathAngel: Speaking so loudly half the street hears her, and so clearly she butchers her adorable New Orleans accent, downright** _ **refusing**_ **to break eye contact with me, and repeating something if I so much as said 'oh?!'**

 **SolaceShine: Ahh, that solves** _ **my**_ **problem, then.**

 **DeathAngel: Oh, what's the problem, Sunshine?**

 **SolaceShine: The exact same as yours.**

 **DeathAngel:** _ **Really**_ **?**

 **SolaceShine: The very same. She must've gone up to Piper for adcive. I'm open enough already, though…**

 **SolaceShine: Shit. She's tryna set me up with someone.**

 **DeathAngel: I'm not** _ **really**_ **open** _ **at all**_ **with my family, so that solves** _ **my**_ **problem.**

 **SolaceShine: Oh yeah?**

 **DeathAngel: Sorry, I gotta go. I'm being** _ **forced**_ **to be social.**

 **SolaceShine: LOL! Hope you survive!**

 **DeathAngel: Well,** _ **thanks**_ **, Sunshine!**

 **SolaceShine: Bye, Angel.**

 **DeathAngel: See ya, Sunshine.**

Reyna came into my room. "Don't wanna come downstairs?" she asked.

I snorted. "No shit."

She picked her words carefully. Needlessly, I might add. "So… want to play Ark? Perce and that lot are on."

I grinned. "Yeah, sure!"

She brought in her laptop and mouse, sitting down on my bed. I sat at my desk, firing up my PC, which I rarely used, surprisingly, as I preferred my laptop. I put on my headphones and joined a call with the rest of the gang. "Ciao, you lot," I smirked.

They all greeted me. We had fun my riding our T-Rexes into newbie bases until I heard banging at our metal gate and our raptors went berserk at the poor intruders. I laughed from the left watch tower for a little while, before seeing the boy jumping into the lake. I came out with my favourite sword, seeing the username 'DoctorsOrders'. I grinned and ran over.

 _ **Ark Chat:**_

 **DeathBoy: Need a fire, Sunshine?**

 **DoctorsOrders: Oh, hi!**

 **DeathBoy: That's our base you were trying to break into. One of the best on the server.**

 **WeHaveAnArmy: How many of you?**

 **A** **urumArgentum: SeaweedBrain, WiseGirl, Superman, TomboyAndDangerous, CanadianAndProud, GoldDigger, ONFIRE, DeathBoy, me, and BowsAndArrows.**

 **DoctorsOrders: I can guess… Can you help us get back to our base? We're kinda lost.**

 **AurumArgentum: Sure, let me just make you our allies…**

 **SeaweedBrain: Already done!**

 **DeathBoy: Nice call, Seaweed. C'mon, I happen to have been spying on your base the other week…**

 _ **Ark Chat:**_

 **DeathBoy: Need a fire, Sunshine?**

 **DoctorsOrders: Oh, hi!**

 **DeathBoy: That's our base you were trying to break into. One of the best on the server.**

 **WeHaveAnArmy: How many of you?**

 **A** **urumArgentum: SeaweedBrain, WiseGirl, Superman, TomboyAndDangerous, CanadianAndProud, GoldDigger, ONFIRE, DeathBoy, me, and BowsAndArrows.**

 **DoctorsOrders: I can guess… Can you help us get back to our base? We're kinda lost.**

 **AurumArgentum: Sure, let me just make you our allies…**

 **SeaweedBrain: Already done!**

 **DeathBoy: Nice call, Seaweed. C'mon, I happen to have been spying on your base the other week…**

Yay, Will was on Ark! I was probably more excited than I was supposed to be, however. First of all, Will died and could've worded his elegant last words better…

 **Ark Chat:**

 **DoctorsOrders: Oh, fuck me.**

 **DeathBoy: NO.**

 **WeHaveAnArmy: OMG, WILL!**

 **DeathBoy: Lol, you could've worded that better, Sunshine. Did you die?**

 **DoctorsOrders: …Yes, I did. Also… NO, I didn't mean it like** _ **that**_ **, Angel!**

 **DeathBoy: I know that, Sunshine. Here, I've got your crossbow: RARA has everything else.**

 **AurumArgentum: Come to the front-ring watch tower of our base.**

 **DeathBoy: Now, Sunshine, I'd be intrigued to know how exactly you backed off the cliff…**

Then when I was a fucking idiot and accidentally left the group…

 **Ark Chat:**

 **DeathBoy: What the bloody fucking Hades did I do?!**

I had accidentally hit something while turning up my volume in the settings. Apparently, this meant that _everything_ in our base was chasing me. I was picked up and tossed around my birds, then mowed down by T-Rexes. I couldn't figure out why, but I did my best not to kill them, because they _were_ our dinosaurs.

 **DoctorsOrders: What** _ **did**_ **happen?** _ **Everything**_ **is chasing you.**

 **SeaweedBrain: DeathBoy left our group.**

 **WiseGirl: ADD HIM BACK IN THEN!**

 **SeaweedBrain: Invite sent.**

I eventually managed to accept it with my slipping fingers and the dinos stopped attacking me.

 **DeathBoy: Accepted, but I'm really low on heath. Sunshine, I assume you carry around medical stuff?**

 **DoctorsOrders: Yeah,** _ **that's**_ **the technical term. I'm on my away.**

Then Will joined the call…

 **DoctorsOrders: Are you lot all in a call together?**

 **AurumArgentum: Yeah, why?**

 **DoctorsOrders: Can Vicky and I join?**

 **DeathBoy: Sure, I'll send you the call name and passcode. You** _ **do**_ **have CallXtra, right?**

 **DoctorsOrders: Yeah, I do.**

"Hey!" he greeted us and everyone shrieked back their greetings.

"Ciao, Sunshine!" I smiled.

"Hey, Angel!" he replied.

"Wassup, Will?!" Percy called.

"Hey, man!" Jason shouted.

"Hi, Will!" Piper smirked.

"Hey-ya, Solace," Hazel nodded.

"Tori, not gonna say anything?" Will shouted. There was a short silence, then he said, "She can't get the cable into her mike."

Then when my fucking gullible sister used a keyboard shortcut…

"I was told that if you use this certain keyboard shortcut you can become OP in Ark…" Hazel began.

"What keyboard shortcut?" I laughed.

Hazel pointed at the five keys of the shortcut. "Hazel, I…" I began, holding out a finger.

Hazel's screen had gone dark blue and she was tapping it with her long fingernails, trying to get a response. Knowing I couldn't use _any_ complicated language with my sister, who sucked with any kind of technology, I simply sighed. "Dear gods, Hazel, you _are_ gullible, aren't you?"

Hazel groaned. "What do I do?!"

I banged my head hard onto my desk. "Oh. My. Gods. Hazel. Look, take out the bar from the back and hit the left button twice… Put it back in… There you go, now press shutdown and restart it in ten seconds…" I pointed to everything she needed to do and she eventually got it.

Everyone was chortling loudly and chanting about how gullible she was. I managed to shut them up. Then, Bianca came inside and told us to come down for our nightly film. Will and Victoria had to go as well for their nightly games.

I flopped down onto the sofa with Mama's throw wrapped around me, making the ice-cold leather more bearable. I was lying with my head on the plump arm of the sofa, Hazel in front of me, pulling the throw around her front. She turned on WALL-E, which I had been _obsessed_ with as a five-year-old, watching it about five hundred times. No one cared that we could all recite the minimal dialogue and the entire storyline from memory, because knowing the storyline made us comfortable, because it was something we could control.

Bianca started the movie and we all fell silent, except for me playing CinemaSins, pointing out all the mistakes in the movie.


	15. Percy's Party - Will

**WizardingWhovian: [** **Can you just have them get together already, this is so frustrating just watching (reading) them being so in love with each other but not realizing the other one is the same way.] I've actually written forwards up to Chapter 24, so I can't make their relationship come any closer to the viewers', but, I can tell you that they are going to be together relatively soon.**

The next few days went past rather quickly. I spent Sunday reading any Sherlock book I could lay my hands on and playing board games and Ark.

On Sunday, I woke up at half-seven and got dressed into an orange t-shirt from the famous 'CHB' brand. I put on blue jeans and a green zip-up hoodie. I was messing around on Ark, charging down a few newbie bases with my dinos, when Kay walked in. "Hey, Will. Up early?"

"Yeah, I'm going to the park," I replied.

Kayla sat down on my computer chair in her Superman PJs. "With who? You never just spontaneously go out on your own."

"Oh, with Nico," I replied nonchalantly.

She grinned manically and it fucking scared me. "Anything else?"

"Oh, we're just going to the park and getting coffee, then maybe a movie or bowling or something. My treat."

"Oh, so you finally got together?" she asked cheekily.

I jumped. "What the fuck, Kayla?"

She smirked at me. "You're going on a date."

"What? No, I'm not!"  
"Going to the park, getting a coffee and talking, then going to the movies/bowling. You're going on a date, William."

I sighed. "Whatever floats your boat, Kayla."

"You mean whatever floats the Solangelo ship," she smirked.

I threw a dirty sock at her. "Shut _up_!"

She folded her arms. "Nope. I'm the little sister and I'm meant to non-stop annoy you. So… have you kissed yet?"

I threw a shoe at her. She just grinned again. "Oh… had sex yet?"

I lobbed two of my three pillows at her. " _KAYLA_!" I shouted.

She held her hands up in surrender and walked out of the room.

oOo

At twelve, Nico knocked on my front door, dressed typically in his skeleton tropical-beach t-shirt, leather jacket, and skinny jeans. "Hey, Sunshine."

"Hey, Angel," I responded, patting my pockets for my phone. Sighing, I turned around. "They are _always_ stealing my phone to fuck with me."

Knowing my phone had quite a protective case, I shouted, "Drop the bass!" I heard something clatter to the floor in the kitchen. "Come in," I told Nico. "Don't bother taking your shoes off."

We headed to the kitchen and I swept my phone off the floor. Nico chortled with laughter as we walked to the park. He told me about how he and his siblings competed about dreams, weird or fake, so we decided to have a dream conversation then and there.

"I had a weird dream last night." Nico began.

"What, weird as in Donald Trump turning into a bright orange duck or weird as in Jason Grace being a stripper?" I asked.

He laughed harder than I'd heard him laugh before. "Oh… my… gods…" he managed to splutter. "Will, you have a charming way of putting things. A mix of both things, I guess."

I flushed. "Oh, do tell."

"Well, I woke up in your bed…"

I immediately flushed and he chuckled awkwardly. "No, not like that. So, I reached for your phone and tapped in your password because I watch you do it so much. I put a message on your group chat, saying 'what the fuck is going on?'. It turned out Lou Ellen had switched our bodies so I was in yours."

I sighed, chuckling and shaking my head. "Your mind works in mysterious ways."

He grinned. "Well, you're not _wrong_."

oOo

When we got to the park, I ordered two 'sweet' teas (it's iced tea; I agree with Canada) and sat down opposite Nico. "So, I'd be delighted to hear about this imaginary world of yours when you were little."  
Nico furrowed his brow. "Percy made up the first bits. I was from the 1940's, but got stuck in time so I couldn't come through to the 21st century, and Mama was already dead, courtesy of Percy's overactive imagination. When Mama died, I killed off Bianca. Luke died and I think Octavian got fired out of a cannon or something as of recently, _before_ he apologised."

I nodded, hiding my chuckles at the strange thought of my half-brother being fired out of a cannon. "Funniest part?"

His eyes lit up. "I got turned into corn at one point."

I laughed. "Wow. Hey, are you alright after yesterday?"

He put his head in his hands. "I'm fine. Thanks for helping me. I just don't know what I would've done without you."

I held his hand underneath the table, squeezing it hard at tracing 'it's okay' on the back of his hand. He smiled softly. "I had a really fucked-up night last night."

I knew he meant he didn't sleep well, but I had to do the thing: "What, fucked-up as in an army of purple bees taking over NY, or weird as in Lou Ellen seducing you in her underwear?"

Nico panted with laughter. " _Please_ stop doing that!"

"What?" I enquired, trying to annoy him.

"I lose my sanity bit by bit when I'm with you…" he gasped.

' _And I lose my heart bit by bit when I'm with you,'_ I thought. Goodness, I fell for him hard.

"Hey," he smirked. "I've heard from Kay that you talk to yourself a lot when you're reading."

"Oh, yeah," I realised absentmindedly, as my mind was a million miles away, daydreaming about Nico being my beautiful and loving boyfriend… yeah. "Once I was reading Sherlock – the original works - when Watson totally _fucked_ up trying to show off in front of Sherlock. I was in English and Mr Blofis was registering us. I groaned 'Watson, you _idiot_!' instead of answering to my name."

Nico was in absolute stitches.

oOo

"So, are you excited for Percy's party?" I asked.

He grinned. "Oh, you bet. He told me we'll be playing Paranoia."

I cocked my head. "What's that?"

"So, you sit in a circle and one person asked the person to their left a question by whispering it in their ear. Examples are 'you and another person in the circle have to go into another room and do unspeakable things for an hour. Who?' and 'You and another person in the circle are surgically bound together for the rest of your life. Who?' The receiver of the question then says the name out loud, for example, 'Will', and everyone is left wondering what the question was. Then, you flip a coin, heads, you say the question, tails, you keep it a secret."

I nodded. "That's gonna be fun."

We both chuckled. "You're not allowed to sit next to your siblings or significant other, either."

I nodded again. "Fair."

oOo

"This the right place?" I asked.

He rolled his eyes. "No, this is the _wrong_ cinema. Yes, it is. C'mon, what shall we watch?"

"PIXAR?" I suggested.

"Yeah, sure. Their showing the Incredibles in five. That one?" he asked.

"Nice," I nodded. "I'll get the popcorn and drinks, you get the sweets."

We walked in and sat down in our seats. Now, I'd _heard_ that Nico played CinemaSins for every movie he watched, but how do you sin one of the best movies of all damn time! He would _not shut up_! I ended up stuffing popcorn down his shirt to shut him up. We couldn't stop laughing until the girl in front of us turned around and told us to shut the fuck up. Instead, Nico kept sinning the movie in my ear and whispering gay jokes when I told him to shut up. Eventually, we ended up laughing again, but, this time, it was an old-timey couple from behind us that told us to shut up, all the while calling us disgraces.

We hi-fived each other. "Awesome day, Sunshine," Nico grinned.

"My treat, Angel," I smiled. He waved a hand as he got on the bus and pulled a funny face as the bus drove away.

I walked back inside and Kayla smirked at me, pointing to my bedroom. When we got up there, she cupped her face in her hands and rested her elbows on her knees. "Tell me _everything_."

oOo

Our school timetable has a two-week rotation, and, while on Week 1 I had three of my four history lessons, on Week B, I had only one, and that was on a Friday, as was my art lesson. So, needless to say, I didn't see much of Nico that week. On Monday, I went to my medical class, then on Tuesday, Kayla dragged me to her gymnastics class to record her performance, and she had _apparently_ told everyone about me and Nico, so half the place shipped us as Solangelo.

Then came Wednesday night. After a day of being panicky and excited, I met Nico and his gang down at their lockers. Luke and Octavian were coming too… Apparently. They were arguing and throwing crappy insults at each other. We all burst out laughing, because their little gang apparently knew too.

When Percy eventually got his book into his bag, we headed outside to get the bus to his place. It was one of those new shiny buses with leather seats. We were sat at the back of the top deck.

At the back, Percy and Annie were stretched out along the five back seats, Percy on the left, Annie on the right. In front of Percy, Hazel and Frank were sat in the double-seat, and Piper and Jason were in front of Annie. In front of Hazel and Frank was me and Nico, then Calypso and Leo in front of Jason and Pipes. Reyna and Rachel were in front of us and Octavian and Luke were in front of Callie and Leo.

"So… Chinese whispers?" Percy suggested.

"Yeah!" everyone enthused.

I started whispering to Hazel. "I ship Reyna and Rachel." What?! I couldn't think of much else!

Hazel covered her mouth and fanned her face sweetly, before turning and whispering to Percy. He rolled his eyes and whispered to Annie, who whispered to Jason, to Leo, to Luke, to Octavian, to Calypso, to Piper, to Frank, then to Will. He elbowed me and whispered, "Seriously?", before leaning over to Rachel. Rachel pulled her blue plastic hairbrush and bopped me on the head with it, before whispering to Reyna. "Oh, fuck you, Nico," she scowled. I chuckled, remembering something from last school year.

"I ship Reyna and Rachel," she said aloud. Everyone fell about laughing.

Annie spilt her drink over her shirt as she chuckled. "Okay, I'm starting," Percy spluttered.

I pulled off my jumper and I heard Nico snort from beside me. "Solace, your shirt!"

I brushed the chocolate off my cargo pants. "Doctors Orders, I know," I droned.

We were all laughing as Percy said the whisper to Annie. When it got around to me, I blinked in confusion. "What the fuck?... Annie's a lizard and shoves lemons down her skirt?!"

We all laughed as hard as we could. Percy shook his head, gasping and spluttering. "No… no… Annie spilt lemonade down her skirt!"

We were laughing too hard to continue for five whole minutes. We had an hour and fifteen minutes of bus ride, no joke.

Some of the results in the game we got were Jason saying 'Purple fur trees banging on the window' (I don't know…) and Annie somehow getting 'Purple balls hanging in tree tops'.

Then there was Leo saying 'Glasses and chocolate on Annie's lizard lemon' (we kept joking around about the whole 'Annie's a lizard and shoves lemons down her skirt' thing and then Annie did the 'After-Eight' challenge with a piece of chocolate but it got stuck in her glasses, so… that clears _that_ up!) and Luke somehow getting 'Glasses and coffee means on Annie's bottom'. I know, what the fuck?

Another one was 'Green grasshoppers named the lemon lemon' from Octavian (yeah, I know, this joke isn't getting any less strange) and we ended up getting 'Green grass is coffee' from Luke (How?).

Based on something that happened about a week ago, Hazel said 'I had poop on my shirt because a bird pooped on me' and Nico somehow got 'I have eyes all over me'. That's only a few examples, but I'll stop now.

oOo

When we got into Percy's we all ditched our schoolbags beside the door and sat down in the living room, sitting around on the armchairs and sofas, also on the floor and on beanbags and cushions. Percy began, which was fair, given he was the host. Percy leant over to his left, muttering into Nico's ear. "Rachel and Rey," he announced.

Percy balanced the coin on his fingers and flicked his thumb out, landing the coin on heads. "The question was 'who in this room do you hope get together?', so… yeah…" Percy muttered awkwardly.

Reyna jumped up from beside me, running over and slapping Nico on the cheek, and Rachel shoved her curly tomato-coloured locks in her face to hide her blush. Nico rubbed his cheek and turned his head to Piper. She cocked a brow and gave him a funny look. "Erm.. you, for asking that question."

He frowned at her, irritated and wanting a proper answer. She gave in. "No, actually, probably Luke or Octavian, if not, Solace."

He chuckled, seeming quite strange given the disturbed air Piper had given off. He flipped the coin, but it quickly went out of control. It hit the lampshade, making it swing, before coming down on Frank's head beside Leo, who was on my right. Again, it hit heads. Percy leapt up to steady to lightshade. "Woah, Nico, a little lower next time!" he shouted.

"Wooooow, unlucky, Pipes!" he laughed, seeing the side showing on the coin, before reciting the _very_ strange question, smirking ruefully. "The question was: If you had to brutally murder someone in this room and then live off their flesh for a year, who?"

We all burst out laughing. I knew, somehow, that, in a way, that this was Piper's way of threatening me to look after Nico for the future, so, I didn't feel threatened, not at all.

Piper leant over to Frank, whispering while we waited in suspense. He chuckled, a little, making me nervous a little, which was right, as, soon after, he said, "Oh, Pipes, I'd say Will, definitely! Best choice by _far_!"

The coin spun in the air and, once again, hit heads. The two of them looked between me and Nico, chuckling nervously. "Erm… it was…" she mumbled, before blurting out the next part so quickly it took me a second to get what it was. "IfyouhadtopairNicoupwithsomeoneinthisroom,whowouldyoupick?"

I buried my face in my hands, a little embarrassed but mostly excited and pleased, listening to the laughter while Nico did the same. Frank turned to Leo and whispered, while he flushed bright red, muttering, "Calypso."

Frank flipped the coin over. Tails. Leo sighed with pure relief, before putting his mouth to my ear. "Who would you go out with in the circle?" he whispered.

I turned bright red but answered truthfully. "Nico."

The coin hit the worst side possible: heads. I flushed even harder, waiting for the moment of truth. "Who would he go out with in the circle?" he told everyone, smiling nastily and laughing.

I managed to regain my composure and wink at my blushing best friend, before announcing, "He's the only single and gay person in the room."

Everyone finished laughing, including the forced laughter of me and Nico, while smiling at each other to give each other reassurance. I turned to Reyna, beginning to whisper. "Who would you go out with in the circle? If they're not your ultimate crush you can say 'no one'," I whispered.

"Rachel," she decided, her dark skin easily hiding the blush I knew was there from the red splotches appearing down her neck and behind her ears.

I was actually glad for Reyna when my coin flip hit tails, loving the idea that I was the only one that got the satisfaction of knowing her answer, while everyone in the circle sat there, irritated, as any answer from Reyna about Rachel was precious gold, and they knew it.

Reyna sighed as well, turning towards Annabeth. "Erm…" Annabeth began hesitantly. "Percy. Apart from him. Oh, Jason, then, I guess."

The coin hit heads _again_ (we seemed to be getting three hits on heads from every one hit on tails), so Reyna smirked and told us what she had asked. "You and another person have to go into a room and do unspeakable things for an hour. Who?"

As a joke, Percy and Jason began wrestling, but it soon turned into a real fight when Jason accidentally got Percy in a _real_ headlock, as oppose to the sarcastic ones they had been doing before. I jumped up and began to tug them apart, along with Nico, who was opposite me. We bumped noses several times, and came close to accidental kisses as they wrestled together and threw us against each other forcefully. Embarrassing.

We managed to yank them apart soon afterwards, then Annabeth muttered a question into Octavian's ear, which was shortly followed up with an eye roll and an easy reply of, "Luke."

The coin hit heads, so Annabeth recited the question at us. "Who forced you apologise?"

Thinking the answer was pretty predictable, we all rolled our eyes, as he tried to think of something to asked Callie. "UGH!" he groaned after a few seconds. "I have not _fucking_ clue!"

Callie giggled in _that_ way, happy to skip out on a go, so she expectantly leant over to the next person. However, Octavian decided to ask her one of the generic questions anyway, putting his lips towards her ear. "Eww, Octavian!" she snickered lightly. "Pipes, I guess. But that's if I _had_ to."

The coin hit tails, so Calypso asked Jason the question. _Finally_. "Will," he answered, and I was immediately uneasy. I looked at Nico and we both raised our eyebrows, smiling at each other, as the coin landed on heads. "Who's Nico's best friend out of this lot?" Callie recounted. "I'm curious."

I wasn't sure that was it. Not at all. I thought it was something more like 'Who do you think Nico has a crush on?' or 'Who do you think Nico would pair well with?', but I didn't say anything, just sitting there, looking suspicious. Nico told me just now that he asked Jason what the question _actually_ was, at it was, "Who do you think Nico's soulmate is?" I know you can't hear me, but I'm slow-clapping right now. Ah, well played, Calypso, well played. _Absolutely_ charming, Callie.

Everyone shrugged as Jason turned to Nico to get a secure reply. "Well, was I correct?"

Nico nodded, catching my eye, clearly with the same suspicions as me. "Yeah…" he replied, somewhat cautious. They looked at each other, smiling a little, clearly plotting _something_. This _something_ hasn't occurred yet, and I don't think it ever will. After this little moment that seemed to last for hours, Jason turned his head to Luke and talking into his ear. "Annabeth, before I realised, Octavian after." He paused for a few seconds, before muttering back. I was a little curious, but I didn't press either of them afterwards, knowing that it might've been private. The coin hit tails, so we never knew what it was.

Luke nudged closer to Rachel and asked a question. "Rachel," she answered. I knew the question was the same as mine in reverse, so I wasn't too disappointed when the coin landed on tails, despite the fact I would like to hear her say it.

Hazel's turn was the last in the circle, and the next on our list. Rachel leant into her ear and whispered very slowly, enunciating each word very exaggeratedly. She flushed unnecessarily, too bright red to comprehend. "Frank," she squeaked. I started suspecting that her 1940's mind was dramatizing it too much, and I would prove to be correct, as Rachel rolled her eyes while she told us she has asked Hazel who her first kiss was. We all chuckled and rolled our eyes, laughing at her overexaggerating, while she smiled at Frank. She turned over to Percy, muttering into his ear. "Hazel, you can do better than tha… Oh, I see! Nico, 100%!"

I could tell Nico was disappointed, as he wanted to know what involved him '100%', but he didn't say anything. Then the coin landed on tails, and I could swear that he mouthed 'Oh, tarnation!', but he insists he never did such a thing. I will continue to think this until he owns up. Next it was my go.

"Solace," Nico chirped, turning a little red.

The coin landed on heads. He mouthed 'Shi-i-i-i-it!' and bit his lip. "Who would you go out with in the circle?" Percy announced.

Everyone was outright simply _howling_ with laughter at his answer, as they all screamed "SOLANGELO!" and "OTP!" at the top of their lungs. Nico and I were bright red, hiding our faces and mouthing reassurances at each other, smiling kindly. Nico eventually managed to gather the attention back to himself, saying, "I said it for the same reason as Solace!" After managing to convince everyone of this, he winked at me too, smiling his special smile at me. Nico was mouthing to himself, his lips making the smallest movements, seeming as if he was having a conversation with himself in his head.

Nico turned to Piper, muttering his question. "Hmm…" she began. "I would say you and Will, but, so as not to piss my off, I'll say… Rachel and Reyna." I was _very_ interested now. Tails. _Drat_. I _really_ wanted to know what it was about. Nico told me what the question was just now and I'm kinda annoyed and also amazed at her fortune-telling ability.

Piper turned to Frank. "Oh, Nico, easily!" he chortled.

The coin hit heads. Piper told us what she had said. "Who had the funniest thing happen to then in Grade 8?"

Octavian flashed a bright smile. "Oh, I know what you're on about!"

I was confused, but I knew quiet, unlike Luke. "Well, I _don't_. Do tell."

I grinned, straightening my back. "So, do you all remember the school trip to England? Well, we went over to play what Mr Blofis called 'Wide Games'. Y'know, he moved to Goode after that year? Yeah? Well, it was really dark and cold…" I paused and coughed. "England," I mumbled, before coughing again. "…and we were playing this game where you hide theses blacks with letters on or whatever. I was stalking up the other base when Frank whisper-yelled, 'Oi, Death Breath, over here!' I ran towards him and tripped over a low thorn bush that came halfway up my shin. I tripped, as I said, getting covered in painful spiky thorns. I fell into a 2-metre deep, dark, sandy hole for fifteen minutes until Frank eventually found me and pulled me out."

We were all laughing hard by this time.

Percy held up a finger when Hazel leant towards him. "Okay, I think that's enough for now. ToD, anyone?"

I loved truth or dare. Oh, funny fun fun! I sound mental but that's how much I loved it. " _Yeah_!" we all grinned.

He smirked. "Okay… So, Jason, I guess, you first?"

He turned to Piper. "Okay, Piper, ToD?"

She grinned, raising her eyebrow. "Dare!"

"Okay, gotta go next door and ask to borrow…" He frowned, trying to think about an ending for his question.

Percy spoke up. "The girl next door is Nancy, who is a total bratty fashionista, and she used to bully me. Go and do you persuade-y, charm-y voice thing to borrow her 'best heels'. Trust me on this one."

She jumped up and stalked out. We sat there for five minutes, until she slammed the door open, holding a plastic bag out in front of her. "Done."

She handed the bag to him, but he shook his head, grinning and handing it back. "I'm not finished, Pipes." He grinned most frustratingly. "Put. Them. On."

Her eyes widened as she put on the high heels, strappy, with huge blocky heels, fluorescent pink. She held up middle finger up at Jason. "You're all dead to me."

She still had her blue socks on when she fastened the strap. "Solace, ToD?"

Before I could even reply, Nico jerked his head up from the screen of his phone, a look of pure, simple, and utter _horror_ crossing his face. What he said next still fills me with fear to this day: "Sunshine, it's that's creepy guy again. Percy, can Bianca come over? Erm… something is really creeping her out and… she doesn't wanna be in the house alone."

I raised my finger and started to talk. "Nico, I think you should…" That was as far as I got before Nico gave me _the look_.

Nico being Nico, he stubbornly shook his head. "A, we don't know who it is, B, we can't give a description, and C… It's not breaking the fucking law!" he snapped at me, which seemed to be the end of the conversation.

"Dare…" I stuttered to Piper, making a point of ignoring Nico.

Piper grinned wickedly and I regretted my choice _instantly_. "Nico has to sit on your lap for the next ten goes."

Neither of us minded, really, but Nico sighed anyway. "Sure, whatever," he grunted, as he got up and sat down in my lap, resting his head against my chest.

"So," I began. "Octavian, ToD?"

"Dare!" he half-shouted, before pausing and re-evaluating his choice. "No, wait, truth."

We all chuckled at his sudden loss of self-confidence. "What compelled you to… y'know… apologise?"

He slammed his fists into the floor either side of him. "Would people _stop_ bringing that up?!" he exclaimed, before taking a huge breath. "Rachel came up to me and said that if I didn't stop 'bullying' you lot, then she'd never talk to me again. Rachel doesn't joke about stuff like that."

We all nodded, shrugged, while Rachel blushed a little. "Jason, ToD?"

"Dare."

"Stop. Picking. Dare," Nico growled, not looking at all threatening in any shape or form, given that he was on the brink of falling asleep and curled up in my lap.

Nico purrs in his sleep. No, really, he literally _purrs_ in his sleep. I only noticed that he fell asleep when all his muscles relaxed and I shifted my arms a little to accommodate his tiny frame. I buried my face into his hair a little, holding him around the waist as his head rested on my upper arm.

We went through nine more goes, including Jason's second one, with none of them landing on me, interestingly. Over half of them whipped out their phones and took pictures of us, and I frequently heard random aww-ing during the game. If Nico had been awake, he would've punched each offender in the nose. Repeatedly. Someone _almost_ dared Nico, but just aww-ed and snapped a picture – looking at you, Reyna!

What happened five goes after mine was probably the funniest. Jason picked dare, when Leo asked him. Leo turned to Percy and asked him how many lemons and limes he had. When he said three and a half lemons and five limes, Leo wasn't satisfied and ran over to the neighbours on the right of their place to grab three lemons and three limes, thanking them and promising that they would pay him back (Percy was very pissed at this). Leo shoved them in the blender in the kitchen and filled up half of the twelve plastic shot classes from drinking roulette.

Jason took a half-shot each go, taking his sixth shot on Nico's go. His face was the most hilarious thing ever and we all took pictures and videos.

I gently shook him awake after the ten goes, until he woke up. "Hey, Angel, it's the end of your dare. Get up."

"Nico, ToD?" Percy asked him.

He cast a look over to me and sighed, winking. "Dare."

He told Nico to get the half-lemon on the counter and suck out all the juice. His face was hilarious and we all whipped out our phones to take videos and photos. He stuck his tongue out at all of us, which was bright red from all the sourness, before tossing it into the bin and chugging down almost a whole glass of Sally's smoothie. "Reyna, ToD?"

I was scared for her. Truth _and_ dare were dangerous for her in the 'Rachel' department. She apparently did _not_ see this coming. "Dare."

He smirked and I was blatantly terrified for her. "Kiss. Rachel."


	16. Percy's Party - Nico

On Sunday, I woke up ridiculously late, around quarter to elven. I had half an hour to eat breakfast and get ready. I did up my jacket and rushed out to the bus stop. When I got on, I pulled out my phone.

 **DeathAngel: Hey, who's there?**

 **SeaweedBrain: Me how are you?**

 **DeathAngel: I'm great. Just heading to the park. I'm going with Solace.**

 **SeaweedBrain: Oh, man, you've got a date!**

 **SparkingGrace: Nico's got a boyfriend!**

 **DeathAngel: Stuff it. Erm… Death's Orders!**

I left the chat in frustration.

oOo

I knocked on Solace's front door. "Hey, Sunshine," I grinned when he opened the door.

"Hey, Angel," he responded, patting his pockets. Defeated, he turned to face the kitchen. "They are _always_ stealing my phone to fuck with me."

As expected, he yelled, "Drop the bass!" I heard something expensive hit tiled flooring. "Come in," he said. I bent down to untie my shoes, but Solace just waved a hand. "Don't bother taking your shoes off."

Will victoriously grabbed his phone from the floor, much to Kayla's disappointment. We laughed most of the way to the park. I started chattering about the whole imagination-world thing from when I was little. Then I remembered my rather weird dream from that night.

I scuffed my shoe. "I had a weird dream last night."

Will grinned and said something _highly_ unanticipated. "What, weird as in Donald Trump turning into a bright orange duck or weird as in Jason Grace being a stripper?"

I was almost choking on my tongue will laughter. "Oh… my… gods… Will, you have a charming way of putting things. A mix of both things, I guess."

"Oh, do tell."

I worded it very badly. "Well, I woke up in your bed…"

He flushed bright pink and I gave out an awkward chuckle. "No, not like that. So, I reached for your phone and tapped in your password because I watch you do it so much. I put a message on your group chat, saying 'what the fuck is going on?'. It turned out Lou Ellen had switched our bodies so I was in yours."

He was chuckling and sighing, shaking his head. "Your mind works in mysterious ways."

"Well, you're not wrong."

oOo

Will got us two sweet teas and we sat down to chat. "So, I'd be delighted to hear about this imaginary world of yours when you were little," he grinned.

I thought hard about it. "Percy made up the first bits. I was from the 1940's, but got stuck in time so I couldn't come through to the 21st century, and Mama was already dead, courtesy of Percy's overactive imagination. When Mama died, I killed off Bianca. Luke died and I think Octavian got fired out of a cannon or something as of recently, _before_ he apologised."

Will seemed to find that last bit hilarious. "Funniest part?"

"I got turned into corn at one point," I smirked.

He laughed. "Wow," he grinned, suddenly serious. "Hey, are you alright after yesterday?"

I put my head in my hands, nodding. "I'm fine. Thanks for helping me. I just don't know what I would've done without you."

He held my hand under the table, sending shivers down my spine. "I had a really fucked-up night last night."

He. Said. The. Thing. Again. "What, fucked-up as in an army of purple bees taking over NY, or weird as in Lou Ellen seducing you in her underwear?"

I found it too funny to comprehend. " _Please_ stop doing that!"

"What?" he asked annoyingly.

"I lose my sanity bit my bit when I'm with you," I spluttered. "Hey, I've heard from Kay that you talk to yourself a lot when you're reading."

"Oh, yeah. Once I was reading Sherlock – the original works - when Watson totally _fucked_ up trying to show off in front of Sherlock. I was in English and Mr Blofis was registering us. I groaned 'Watson, you _idiot_!' instead of answering to my name."

Needless to say, I was laughing _very_ hard.

oOo

"So, are you excited for Percy's party?"

He smiled. "Oh, you bet. He told me we'll be playing Paranoia."

"What's that?"

"So, you sit in a circle and one person asked the person to their left a question by whispering it in their ear. Examples are 'you and another person in the circle have to go into another room and do unspeakable things for an hour. Who?' and 'You and another person in the circle are surgically bound together for the rest of your life. Who?' The receiver of the question then says the name out loud, for example, 'Will', and everyone is left wondering what the question was. Then, you flip a coin, heads, you say the question, tails, you keep it a secret," I explained.

I nodded. "That's gonna be fun."

We both chuckled. "You're not allowed to sit next to your siblings or significant other, either."

"Fair."

oOo

"This the right place?" Will asked.

"No, this is the _wrong_ cinema. Yes, it is. C'mon, what shall we watch?" I blabbered as we climbed the stone steps.

"PIXAR?" he suggested, much to my delight.

"Yeah, sure. Their showing the Incredibles in five. That one?"

"Nice. I'll get the popcorn and drinks, you get the sweets."

When we sat down, I immediately assumed my CinemaSins brain. About ten minutes in, Will was 130% done with my bullshit, so he stuffed popcorn down the back of my t-shirt and I had to shake it out. He laughed so hard, the girl in front of us turned and scolded us, telling us to shut the fuck up. Annoyed, I leant into his ear and started whispering my cryptic thoughts. When he got _really_ pissed at me, I started muttering gay jokes until we were both in stitches again. The elderly couple behind us began calling us disgraces to America, while simultaneously telling us to shut the fuck up.

oOo

"Awesome day, Sunshine," I smiled, giving him a hi-five.

"My treat, Angel," he grinned back, waving as I got on bus. I pulled a ridiculous face as the bus drove off.

I opened up my phone, seeing about a million messages asking if my 'date' was done.

 **DeathAngel: Back, you idiots with nothing better to do than stalk me and Will.**

 **SeaweedBrain: Did you kiiissss?**

 **DeathAngel: Hazel, stop them.**

 **GoldDigger; Guys, stop, or you'll have Arion's foot rammed up your ass.**

 **DeathAngel:** _ **Hazel**_ **!**

 **GoldDigger: You asked me to stop them…**

 **DeathAngel: Oh, fair enough.**

oOo

Our school timetable has a two-week rotation, and, while on Week 1 I had three of my four history lessons, on Week B, I had only one, and that was on a Friday, as was my art lesson. So, needless to say, I didn't see much of Will that week. On Monday, I went to a play with Hazel, then on Tuesday, Reyna asked me to rehearse her lines with her.

On Wednesday, we expected Solace, Rachel, Luke, and Octavian to meet us at our lockers. I already had my bag packed with a surprisingly minimal amount of stuff, and I was waiting for the others. When they walked down the hall, Rachel was at the back, wearing a blue shirt with a knot tied at the bottom, and short shorts, and nervously ruffling her hair, Solace at the front, and the arguing couple between them.

"So… Chinese whispers?" Percy suggested.

"Yeah!" everyone enthused.

I started whispering to Hazel. "I ship Reyna and Rachel." What?! I couldn't think of much else!

Hazel covered her mouth and fanned her face sweetly, before turning and whispering to Percy. He rolled his eyes and whispered to Annie, who whispered to Jason, to Leo, to Luke, to Octavian, to Calypso, to Piper, to Frank, then to Will. He elbowed me and whispered, "Seriously?", before leaning over to Rachel. Rachel pulled her blue plastic hairbrush and bopped me on the head with it, before whispering to Reyna. "Oh, fuck you, Nico," she scowled. I chuckled, remembering something from last school year.

"I ship Reyna and Rachel," she said aloud. Everyone fell about laughing.

Annie laughed so hard she jerked her pink lemonade Lucozade forwards and spilt it over her CHB t-shirt. "Okay, I'm starting," Percy said.

By this time, I had pulled off my orange CHB hoodie to reveal my t-shirt that read 'DOCTORS ORDERS' in rainbow letters. Nico spluttered on his Brazilian-tropical-whatever Lucozade. "Solace, your shirt…" he began.

I sighed. "Doctors Orders, I know." I brushed chocolate crumbs from my Twix bar off my navy-blue cargo pants.

I frowned. "What the hell?" I muttered, as Frank whispered something like, "Annie's a yule log and shoves lemons down her socks."

Will muttered, "What the fuck?..." before saying what he had heard. "Annie's a lizard and shoves lemons down her skirt?!"

I'm not going to list everything else that happened, because it was _extraordinarily_ awkward, and I don't remember much of it. Solace probably has it covered in his writing, so just go and check his.

oOo

We arranged ourselves in a circle, Percy, then me, then Piper, then Frank, then Leo, then Solace, then Reyna, then Luke, then Rachel, then Annie, then Octavian, then Callie, then Jason, then Hazel. Percy went first, as the host of the party. He bent over to me, saying, "Who in this room do you hope get together?"

"Rachel and Rey," I said aloud.

Percy flipped the coin. Heads. Oh, shit. "The question was 'who in this room do you hope get together?', so… yeah…"

Reyna got up and slapped me, while Rachel ruffled her hair into her face. I turned over to Piper. "If you had to brutally murder someone in this room and then live off their flesh for a year, who?"

She shot me a disturbed gaze. "Erm... you, for asking that question. No, actually, probably Luke or Octavian, if not, Solace."

I laughed, then flipped the coin. It soared high into the air, hit the lamp, then came down on Frank's head. Percy leapt up to steady the light. "Woah, Nico, a little lower next time!"

Frank tilted his head forward and it landed on heads. I laughed. "Wooooow, unlucky, Pipes!" I chortled. "The question was: If you had to brutally murder someone in this room and then live off their flesh for a year, who?" I recited.

Everyone burst into gales of laughter, even Luke, Octavian, and Will. Piper leant over to Frank. He chuckled a little. "Oh, Pipes, I'd say Will, definitely! Best choice by _far_!"

Piper flipped the coin. Heads again. The colour drained from their faces as they looked nervously between me and Will. "Erm… It was..." she blustered, before saying the question all as one word. "IfyouhadtopairNicoupwithsomeoneinthisroom,whowouldyoupick?"

Everyone laughed as Solace and I buried our faces into our hands, blushing furiously. Frank bent over and whispered to Leo. His cheeks soon took on a red tint and he murmured, "Calypso."

Frank flipped the coin. Tails. He sighed with relief and asked a question to Will. "Nico," he answered, face going red with embarrassment. The coin hit heads. "Who would he go out with in the circle?" Leo gasped with laughter.

Everyone laughed again. Will winked at me, before saying, "He's the only single and gay person in the room."

When we finished laughing, Solace asked Reyna a question. "Rachel," she decided.

Much to the disappointment of… well… everyone, it hit tails. Reyna too sighed with relief and bent over to Annabeth. "Erm…" she began. "Percy. Apart from him? Oh, Jason, then, I guess."

Heads. "You and another person have to go into a room and do unspeakable things for an hour. Who?"

Everyone laughed uncontrollably as Jason and Percy rolled around on the floor, wrestling each other.

oOo

We broke them apart soon after, then Annie bent into Octavian's ear. "Luke."

Heads. Octavian sighed as Annie relayed the question. "Who forced you to apologise?"

We all rolled our eyes while Octavian frowned, trying to think about something to ask Callie. "UGH!" he groaned. "I have no _fucking_ clue!"

Callie giggled, but Octavian asked her one of the generic questions anyway. "Eww, Octavian! Pipes, I guess. But that's if I _had_ to."

Tails. Callie bent over to Jason. "Will," he answered.

We looked at each other, raising our eyebrows, as Callie flipped the coin and it landed on heads. "Who's Nico's best friend out of this lot? I'm curious."

I wasn't sure this was it. I asked Jason about it today, and he told me that it was actually "Who do you think Nico's 'soulmate' is?" Charming, Calypso, charming.

Everyone shrugged as Jason looked at me for confirmation. "Well, was I correct?"

I nodded. "Yeah."

He and Callie looked at each other, smiling discreetly. Of course, _nowadays_ , I knew what happened to get this response. Jason turned to Luke and muttered something, before pausing and leaning in again. "Annabeth, before I realised, Octavian after." He stopped as Jason whispered again, before turning and whispering back. Tails.

Luke turned to Rachel. "Reyna," she replied, her cheeks turning pale pink and her lids sliding halfway over her eyes. Tails. Shit, although I still know what that was.

Next was Hazel. Reyna leant into her ear and whispered slowly. She bit her lip and flushed dramatically. Unnecessarily, I might add. "Frank!" she squeaked. She blushed even harder as Rachel rolled her eyes and told us she had asked who Hazel's first kiss was. We all chuckled and rolled our eyes at her overreaction. Hazel sighed and whispered to Percy. "Hazel, you can do better than tha… Oh, I see! Nico, 100%!"  
Tails. Damn! I really wanted to know what question involved me '100%', as it seemed interesting. Next, it was me. "Who would you go out with in the circle?" Perce asked.

"Solace," I replied.

Heads. Shi-i-i-i-it! "Who would you go out with in the circle?" he recounted.

When everyone had stopped outright _howling_ with laughter and screaming "SOLANGELO!" and "OTP!" I managed to get everyone's attention back to me. "I said it for the same reason as Solace, guys!"

' _No, you totally don't have the biggest crush since the beginning of time, to-o-o-o-otally not!'_ a voice in my head chuckled.

' _Shut the fuck up,'_ I thought, irritated.

I leant over to Piper. "Who in this room have you suspected will get together for the longest?" I asked.

"Hmm… I would say you and Will, but, so as not to piss you off, I'll say… Rachel and Reyna."

Tails. Good, considering the former, bad, considering the latter.

Piper whispered to Frank. He frowned, then laughed heartily. "Oh, Nico, easily!"

Heads. Piper spoke up. "Who had the funniest thing happen to them in Grade 8?"

Octavian grinned. "Wait, I know what you're on about!"

Luke frowned. "Well, I _don't_. Do tell."

I grinned, straightening my back. "So, do you all remember the school trip to England? Well, we went over to play what Mr Blofis called 'Wide Games'. Y'know, he moved to Goode after that year? Yeah? Well, it was really dark and cold…" I paused and coughed. "England," I mumbled, before coughing again. "…and we were playing this game where you hide theses blacks with letters on or whatever. I was stalking up the other base when Frank whisper-yelled, 'Oi, Death Breath, over here!' I ran towards him and tripped over a low thorn bush that came halfway up my shin. I tripped, as I said, getting covered in painful spiky thorns. I fell into a 2-metre deep, dark, sandy hole for fifteen minutes until Frank eventually found me and pulled me out."

Everyone was laughing very loudly by this time. Frank turned to Leo and whispered a question. He turned red again. "Calypso! I said that last time! Calypso!"

Heads. Frank grinned nastily. "Who was his first kiss?"

Everyone laughed and he buried his face in his knees. Percy stood up fuming. I edged back a little bit, as when he wasn't goofing off with us, he was bloody _terrifying_. "Don't. Laugh. At. Leo," he intoned, and everyone in the room froze. "No one made fun of me when I had my first kiss _with Annabeth_ , did they?"

We all shut up and gave Leo and Percy shy smiles. Leo grinned at Callie and Percy, whispering to Will. "It's meant to be someone actually _in_ the circle, dumbass! A name, not yes or no!" He paused. "If you insist…. Yes… That's two questions! Fine, then… Lou and Cecile! Now, an actual question!" He paused again. "Percy, definitely. He's underestimated."

Heads. I was glad it didn't seem to be about me, for once. Solace beat him to saying the question. "That _actual_ question you were _meant_ to say…" he enunciated, shooting a pointed look in Leo's direction. "Was 'who in this group scares you the most?' and I picked Percy."

We all shrugged, mumbling stuff like, "Fair," and "Really? Reyna's _far_ scarier!"

Will turned to Reyna, muttering in her ear. She snickered. " _That's_ a measurement now? You just coined a new term, Will! Erm… Mrs O'Leary."

Heads. "On a scale of Nico to Percy, how terrifying is Calypso?" Solace grinned.

We all laughed harder than ever before. "So…" Leo gasped. "If Nico is a one and Perce is a ten, then what's Mrs O'Leary?!"

I scowled. "Why am I one, exactly?"

Solace rolled his eyes. "Nico, you're about as terrifying as a ball of cotton wool when someone gets to know you. You seem like a nine – or a Mrs O'Leary – but you're a one. Seriously."

I rolled my eyes right back, chuckling. Pretending to be offended and grumpy, I grumbled, "You'll think I'm as terrifying as a ball of cotton wool when I use that cotton wool to choke you, Sunshine."

Everyone heard me and laughed. Rachel spoke up. "So it goes: one – Nico, two – Frank, three – Leo, four – me, five – Piper, six – Hazel, seven – Reyna, eight – Annie, then… well, you know."

We all laughed until we couldn't breathe.

oOo

"Okay," Percy announced after Hazel's go. "I think that's enough for now. ToD anyone?"

"Yeah!" we all chirped.

"Okay…" he began, faltering. "So, Jason, I guess, you first?"

"Okay, Piper, ToD?" he asked.

She grinned wickedly. "Dare."

"Okay, go gotta go next door and ask to borrow…" he tailed off, having asked the question on a whim.

"The girl next door is Nancy, who is a total bratty fashionista, and she used to bully me. Go and do you persuade-y, charm-y voice thing to borrow her 'best heels'. Trust me on this one," Percy ordered.

We waited expectantly for five minutes, until Piper stalked moodily back in, holding a plastic bag at arm's length. "Done."

Jason smirked. "I'm not finished, Pipes. Put. Them. On."

She pulled out a pair of strappy and fluorescent pink heels, and huge, thin-ish (or thereabouts) heels. She flipped Jason off angrily. "You're all dead to me."

We chuckled as she slipped her feet into the shoes, still clad in socks, fiddling with the strap. However, I was distracted by a text from Bianca.

 **BinnyArrow: Nico, that guy's taking photos of the house again.** _ **Please**_ **can I come over to Percy's, Nico? Thalia's at counselling and I really don't want to be in the house alone. Please?**

"Solace, ToD?" Piper asked.

I looked up from my phone just as Solace opened his mouth. "Sunshine, it's that creepy guy again," I said, catching everyone's attention, everyone almost dislocated their necks as they turned sharply to face me. I swallowed, uncomfortable with all the attention., but whether it was because of the nickname or the actual sentence I don't know. "Percy, can Bianca come over? Erm… _something_ is really creeping her out and… she doesn't wanna be in the house alone."

Solace raised a finger and my anger flared up. He managed to get out "Nico, I think you should…" before I cut him off.

I shook my head, refusing to believe anyone was trying to lay a _finger_ on me and my family. "A, we don't know who it is, B, we can't give a description, and C… _It's not breaking the fucking law_!" I snapped at him, leaving no room for discussion.

"Dare…" Solace stuttered.

Piper grinned, and I could see Solace's heart sinking. "Nico has to sit on your lap for the next ten goes."

I don't think either of us actually cared that much, given the graveyard thing from Saturday. I got up and settled myself in his lap, resting my head on his chest, my eyelids sliding halfway over my tired eyes.

"So… Octavian, ToD?"

Dare," he grinned, before suddenly losing his confidence and switching his choice. "No, wait, truth!"

We all laughed at his sudden change of mind. "What compelled you to… you know, apologise?" I asked cautiously.

He groaned. "Would people stop bringing that up?!" He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Rache came up to me and said that if I didn't stop 'bullying' you lot that she'd never talk to me again. Rachel doesn't joke about stuff like that."

We all nodded, taking it in. "Jason, ToD?"

"Dare," he replied.

I scowled. "Stop. Picking. Dare." Doubtless, I didn't look never threatening, given the fact that I was curled up in Will's lap, half asleep, with his arms wrapped around me, and my head resting on his arms. I didn't actually care, given that he was warm and cuddly.

oOo

I don't purr in my sleep, Sunshine. No matter what he tells you, I don't purr. I… Oh, fine, I make this noise that sounds a _little_ (a lot) … Solace! This is _my_ document! Go write on your own! Uh, I'm so sorry about him. Here, how about a compromise? A _lottle_? Happy now?

Sorry about that. My boyfriend is _so_ annoying, but he's made me promise to keep this in in exchange for kisses and I can't refuse that!

Anyway…

I slept until my time for sitting with Solace was up, when he gently shook me awake. "Hey, Angel, it's the end of your dare. Get up."

I nodded, giving him a grin before stumbling upwards and sitting back down on my beanbag, which was a _lot_ less comfy than the one Solace was sitting on. It reached me. "So, Nico, ToD?" Percy asked.

"Dare," I grinned, not wanting anyone to ask me something about Solace.

Apparently, while I was out, they had shoved six and a half lemons and eight limes (they had gone next door – not Nancy's place – to borrow a few) in a blender and made a bunch of half-'shots'. Jason had to take one of the twelve shots every turn. He had just taken his sixth half-shot when I answered.

Percy smiled. "Go grab the half-lemon off the counter." After they explained Jason's dare, Percy sighed and continued. "Suck. It."

I took it from the kitchen and sucked all the juice from it. I made a twisted face at the sour juice touching my tongue, and everyone took videos and pictures of me. When I was done and I'd drunk some smoothie to get rid of the taste, I turned to Reyna.

"Reyna, ToD?"

"Dare," she answered easily.

I horrid thought crossed my mind and I smirked dangerously. "Kiss. Rachel."


	17. Kiss - Will

**I'm** _ **finally**_ **going to do some review responses, so… let's get to it! (By the way, bold** _ **italics**_ **in [square brackets] is the review, the bold is me!**

 **Ellie H:** _ **[**_ _ **Hi! I just want to say that I LOVE your story**_ **!] Aww, thank you!** _ **[There are a few points though where you have either mistyped something or changed who said what from chapter to chapter.]**_ **I have recently employed the proofreading help of my friend. If you mean what I think you mean, it changes because it changes from Nico's perspective to Will's. [Other than that, your story is really good.] Thank you once again!**

 **Enjoy!**

Rachel turned bright red. "What?! No..."

Reyna held her head high, but a splotchy blush was fast spreading up her neck. " _Nico di Angelo_!" she exclaimed hotly.

He snickered. "Go on, Reyna. We're not stopping you."

I shot him a look that read ' _calm the fuck down, Angel!'_ He simply chuckled.

"Fine," Reyna spat, arms folded. "But _no_ cameras!"

 _Most_ of us obliged, tucking away our devices into our pockets, or simply placing them down beside us, or on the table if we trusted the occupants of the room enough to leave hundreds of pounds worth of technology on the table. However, Nico left his camera poking out the pocket of his bomber jacket. I saw him take a picture, then begin recording, all in my peripheral vision, as all eyes were on Rachel and Reyna.

They stood in each other's arms, kissing, for almost a minute, until Jason gave a little cough, raising his eyebrows and tilting his head. "Mm- _hm_!?"

They broke apart, both with faces burning a bright red. Rachel was hiding her face in her hair and Reyna had her head in her hands. When they finally made eye contact again (and yes, Nico was _still_ filming!), Reyna took Rachel's face in her hands and pulled her into another kiss, a deeper kiss.

We all burst out cheering and clapping this time. Nico pulled out his phone, a gratified smirk crossing his face. Rachel and Reyna surged forwards and Nico shoved his phone in his pocket to prevent Reyna from throwing it out the window. They quickly sat down, red-faced, while Nico promised over and over to delete the video, which he hasn't: not to this day.

"Nico, you are _dead_ , you son of a serpent," she hissed.

"Dad's not a serpent," he chuckled.

She threw a pillow at him and turned to Jason. "Jason, ToD?"

oOo

He took his eighth shot and turned to her. "Dare, again. Truth's _bor-ing_!"

Nico stood up. "Reyna, will you forgive me if a give you a good idea?" he asked her.

She smiled thoughtfully. "Partially, as I _did_ get a girlfriend out of your dare."

' _So_ that's _what they'd whispered to each other!'_ I thought.

She winked at Rachel, who grinned in response. Nico rolled his eyes. "Okay…" He bent down to her ear and began whispering.

She nodded, her grin getting wider with each word. "Alright. Percy, will you care if I use a bunch of the ink your printer?"

He shrugged. "I trust you on this one, Reyna. I bet it'll be good, as Nico came up with it, so I don't care, as long as we get laughs out of it."

Reyna ran to Percy's computer. We waited for ten minutes, chatting amiably, until she came back with fifteen pieces of paper crammed with the face of Nicholas Cage. She handed them to a confused Jason, grinning. "You've got to stick one of these over the face of every photo in your house, then put them in books, in the fridge, on the toilet seat, in people's dinner, and watch your dad and sister slowly go mad."

Jason chuckled and turned to Annabeth, taking his ninth shot as he did so. He pulled a sour face, his temporary immunity to the sourness gone. He took a glass of Sally's smoothie and downed it immediately, before asking her. "Annie, truth or dare?"

"Dare," she sighed. "Perce says it gets boring when I do truths all the time."

Jason grinned, accepting another 'smoothie' glass from Percy, not even looking at it. I saw Percy hiding a smirk behind his hand. "I want you to…" He took a sip and pulled a face. "Oh!"

He studied the glass. It was a reddish-orange, with a few bits of green. "Dear fucking Zeus, what's _in_ that stuff?!" His eyes narrowed. "PERCY!"

He burst out laughing. "C'mon, Jase! You didn't even _look_ at it before drinking. PRICELESS!"

Jason threw a pillow at him. "Fuck off, Percy." He looked between Nico and Percy. "No smart comments, you two. Y'know…"

They both laughed and looked at each other. "Wouldn't dream of it," they chimed simultaneously. Percy spoke up. "In answer to your question, it's hot sauce, ketchup, and mustard, with a little guacamole mixed in."

Jason jumped up and ran into the bathroom, spitting his drink in the sink and pouring out the contents of the cup. He ran back in and poured _himself_ some smoothie. He turned back to Annabeth and told her what her dare was. "You've got to go outside and hug the tree on the edge of the sidewalk."

" _Lame_!" Annie snickered.

Jason pouted. "Hey! I just drank that… _thing_. It's a little hard to think of a decent dare when your tongue's on fire!"

She laughed and walked outside, hugged the tree, while yelling, "I love trees!" to make the dare a little less boring, before coming back in.

"Nico, truth or dare?" she asked.

"Truth," he shrugged, before realising what he could be asked. About me. "Shit," he cursed under his breath.

Annabeth smiled. "Don't worry, Nico. I'm not _that_ mean."

Everyone laughed and I seemed to be the only one in the dark about the whole situation. I just sat there looking confused until their laughter died down. "So," Annie gasped, before pausing to calm down a little. When she could breathe normally, she began. "Okay, sorry about that. I'm taking this opportunity to ask you a genuine question."

"Get on with it, Wise Girl," Nico muttered, loud enough for us all to hear. "I didn't ask for a speech, so stop speaking like a British person."

We all chuckled, but let Annie continue. "Why do you never answer anyone's text messages on Saturday afternoons?"

I stiffened up, along with Nico. "Never you mind!" he retorted, before remembering it was a truth. He _had_ to answer.

"C'mon," she said, a cocky smirk falling across her lips.

"Ask Solace," he murmured, giving her the middle finger.

She came over to me, confused. I stood up and put my mouth to her ear. "He goes down to his mum's grave and, most of the time, breaks down."

She pulled away before I could say anything more. "Oh, shit, I'm sorry, Nico." Jason was shooting her a death glare that wasn't half as scary as Nico's, but, moving on…

Nico turned to Leo, smirking. "Valdez, ToD?"

"Dare!" he exclaimed, _daringly_ (I know, excuse the pun).

"So, swap clothes with Piper. _Not_ underwear, though. I don't want to embarrass you _too_ bad," he snickered.

Leo blushed awkwardly and Piper pursed her lips. They headed into Percy's room and passed their clothes through the bathroom door. Piper's outfit was fit for the warm September weather, so, needless to say, it was rather… showy. He was wearing a blue vest top with a showy neckline and short shorts. And it looked ridiculous. Piper somehow managed to pull of the look of the tan cargo pans, greasy white shirt, and red suspenders, looking great for some reason.

Piper sat down, running hands through her fringe. "Leo, who ya gonna get?"

"You," he grumbled. "For picking this stupid outfit."

She put a hand to her heart in mock offense. "Oh, you offend me!"

We all chuckled. "So, I pick truth."

Leo groaned. "Fuck you, I had a _really_ good dare."

Piper smiled, gratified. "I knew you would. Precisely why I didn't pick dare."

Nico was laughing for unknown reasons. "Leo said 'fuck you', you know."

Jason and Percy pulled disgusted faces. "EWWWW, Ni-co!"

"I know."

"So," Leo fumbled, waving his arms to get the attention back his way, taking the confused eyes off my best friend. "What's the strangest inside joke you've ever had?"

 _ **Two years ago…**_

"So, you ship me with your imaginary serial killer called Perry, correct?" Piper asked.

"Yop!" Jason muttered through a mouthful of chips.

Piper frowned. "Let me get this straight: Perry is going to buy _the White Hourse_ for me, but he's going the fuck the Prime Minister in _my_ new mansion?"

The entire group burst out laughing.

 _ **Back to the game…**_

"Well, it's gotta be the Buckingman Palace thing," Piper recalled.

We all dissolved into laughter. Except me, Nico, Octavian, Rachel, and Luke. "What?" we all asked.

Piper opened her mouth to explain. By the end, we were all screaming with laughter. She turned to Nico. "Nico, ToD?"

We were both on shaky ground no matter what option we chose, so he sighed begrudgingly. "Truth."

" _Please_ ," she began. "Do me a favour and explain that weird 'fuck me, fuck you, fuck off, fuck this' joke."

Nico snickered. "Well, six months ago, Percy tripped down the stairs…"

 _ **Six Months Ago…**_

Percy tripped down the stairs. "Fuck me…" he grumbled.

Nico smirked. "Absolutely not!" he grinned.

"Ohhhh, you're thinking about it in _that_ context!" he grinned, picking up his books as they walked back to their classroom across the courtyard.

"No shit, Sherlock," he grinned.

"So, if fuck me means… well, you know, does that mean fuck you means that you're _asking_ to fuck me?"

Nico went bright red. "Oh, fuck off."

"What does that mean? Does it mean you're telling me to go _off_ to fuck?" he smirked. "And fuck this means fuck whatever you're talking about?"

Nico shuddered, disturbed. "I'll never be able to tell someone to fuck off comfortably again. It _would_ work with a matchmaker… but…"

 _ **Back to the game…**_

"So, then I said, 'I'll never be able to tell someone to fuck off comfortably again. It would work with a matchmaker…' Then Piper joined the conversation and we had to switch to something sane."

Everyone was in stitches. "Percy, truth or dare?" Nico asked.

"Sorry to be boring, but truth."

"Oh, it's no problem. What would you do with a million dollars?"

"I'd buy my mum a bigger house, then I'd but an engagement ring, then I'd take Annie to a bookstore and get her whatever books she wants," he listed.

"And, Perce wins best boyfriend award for the billionth time in a row!" Leo exclaimed.

He grinned. "I can't help it."

"Aww, thanks, Perce," Annabeth smiled.

We rolled our eyes. Percy stood up. "Okay, that's enough truth or dare. 7 Minutes in Heaven, anyone?"

Octavian looked at his phone and answered a call. "Hey, Dad… What? I haven't done anythi- Ohhh, right… Why don't you talk to Rachel as well?... You've _already_ talked to her?... Have _not_!... Oh, wha- Okay, fine, I'll be there… Bye."

He cut the call. "Rachel, has Dad already talked to you?"

She scratched the back of her neck. "Erm… Yeah, he has. I'll tell them about my… ahem... _thing_ tonight. G'luck."

Octavian scowled picked up his bag, walking out of the door, waving to us. Luke raised a finger. "Hang on, I need to ask when I gotta go home."

He got out his phone, furrowing his brow when he got a reply. "Get back now," he read aloud. "Huh, strange. Dad's _so_ overprotective. Earlier, he asked who I was hanging out with and when I said Nico's name, he looked at me like I'd just committed an atrocity! I swear, he's out for your blood, Nico!"

We all chuckled, waving our hands. "Yeah, right," Nico chuckled dismissively. "I hope that was a metaphor!"

"Oh, you never know!" Luke called as he walked out the door.

oOo

Annabeth cut a piece of paper into perfect squares by folding it, then she handed a square to each of us. We each drew a symbol representing ourselves, which was actually quite time-consuming, because, although three of us are good at art (me, Hazel, and Nico), we all wanted to make ours as good as possible. After a couple of minutes, we put our paper into this black hat Percy had from our school drama performance of Bugsy Malone.

"Rules: you have to at least cuddle," Annabeth began, before interrupted by some giggles from some _very_ mature people in the group (no names). She shot us all her glare and we shut up. "The other person, so you don't _have_ to kiss. If you kiss, we can all say it's your own choice. We have full permission to tease you if you kiss, unless you're a couple/a pair we ship."

Everyone nodded, with me and Nico cocking our eyebrows at each other, suspicious of the last part of her sentence. Annabeth thrust the hat at Reyna, who pulled out a piece of paper, as we would all be 'taking part' (what?! I didn't want to say 'doing it' as that has a double meaning!) twice, with the person we had, and the person who had us. She went around the circle and we each took paper.

"Perce, what do you have?" she asked.

He held up a picture of an island with palm trees and the sea around it. "Callie?" he guessed.

They climbed into Percy's closet. After seven minutes of us chatting about embarrassing moments and making jokes about what they were doing in the closet. When they came out, Percy openly said that they chatted, gave each other a light hug and he kissed her cheek. We all shrugged and Annie held up a picture of Percy's ballpoint pen, which was famous for being the weapon he used to knock out an assassin when he was 12, and it _never_ seemed to run out of ink.

They climbed into the closet and came out with swollen lips. They had _clearly_ been doing some _serious_ making-out in there. We didn't ask for any specifics.

oOo

Bianca knocked on the door when Reyna and Jason were in the closet. We let her in and she sat down on the couch next to Percy. She kept quiet and just sat there texting Zoe. Then, she turned Nico, with a fierce look in her eyes. "Nico, we're calling the cops as soon as that man takes photos of our house again. This isn't a matter of discussion. I do not _care_ what you say. The man has greying hair, usually wearing a grey suit and a red tie. He wears brown loafers and he has very tanned skin. We. Are. Reporting. Him."

Nico looked terrified, nodding. "Of course, Bi. It's the best idea." We all gave him the thumbs-up and I gave him a one-armed hug.

oOo

I held up my picture of angel wings with a skull resting in front of them. "Nico?"

He nodded and we stepped into the closet. When we were enclosed in the dark, he moved over from the other side of the closet and squeezed into the small space beside me. I turned to him, allowing him to curl up in my lap. I put my arms around him and pulled him on top of me, so his head was resting on my chest and he was curled up in the foetal position. I rested my hand in his hair. "You alright?" I asked.

"Yeah," he whispered back.

After a few more of minutes of silence, with me just playing with his hair and him burying his face in my t-shirt, Percy called out to us. "Guys, seven minutes, are up!"

Nico scrambled off my lap and helped me up. Before we left the closet, he yanked me down by my t-shirt and kissed me on the forehead, grinning. "Angel…" I began, unable to believe that my best friend and crush had just _kissed me_. _Nico di-freaking-hot Angelo had just kissed me._

He chuckled. "I'm joking, Sunshine, don't worry about it."

I rolled my eyes, trying not to let the emotions play me through. When we got out, Percy jokingly asked if we had 'done it' in the cupboard. Nico and I turned bright red as he marched over and slapped Percy, before shouting, "Percy, stop being so weird!"

A lame comeback, sure, but, whatever. We spent a little while sharing embarrassing moments.

oOo

"Okay," Annabeth gasped through her giggles. "I think that's enough! We'll do the food…"

She was cut off by me and Nico chortling, "Double meaning!"

"We're not going to fuck our food, you immature morons," she scoffed haughtily, but there was a fond grin adorning her features. "We'll _get_ the food," she continued, sighing a sigh that was irritated yet fond. "Then I think it's 'home time'."

We all looked at her, waiting for the verdict on her conversation. Annabeth paused, thinking about her last sentence, and her upcoming one. "Gods, I sound like I'm trying to get rid of you!"

We all chuckled hastily and told her she didn't sound like that at all. She rolled her eyes and held out her hand to Percy, helping him up. Everyone did the same with their significant other, so Solace and I awkwardly stumbled to our feet, smiling at each other reassuringly, despite there was really no reason to reassure each other. We rushed to the kitchen, but I ran right into Mr Blofis. I scrambled upwards awkwardly, stuttering my apologises, while Nico gasped with laughter. "C'mon, Sunshine, get up. Paul, I apologise for my utter goofball of a best friend."

Paul chuckled. "It's no problem, erm…"

"Will," I prompted helpfully.

"Come on!" Percy called from the kitchen, waving a cocktail stick with loads of food crammed onto it. A bunch of it flew off onto Piper's head and Piper ate it all, laughing and snorting. "The food's gonna go soon!"

We sprinted in, with Paul smiling at us.

Later on, almost all the food was gone. "I'm still hungry!" Leo complained.

Percy sighed and opened up another full-meat pizza. We all took a slice and sat around chatting. Eventually, Sally dispersed the group and we all went our separate ways, rapidly thanking Percy and his parents as we left the apartment.

oOo

Nico and I were among the first to leave, just after Leo, Jason and Bianca, who was sleeping over at Thalia's place, and just before Reyna and Rachel, who were sleeping over at my Auntie Artemis' house. Auntie Artemis knows Rachel very well because she's she my half-brother's (Octavian's) adopted sister. Confusing, but Rachel still knows her well. We scrambled onto the bus at nine o' clock sharp. I reached into my bag and pulled out my copy of 'Artemis Fowl', which I had pack purely to read to Nico. He grinned approvingly. "Nice one, Solace. Thinking ahead," he announced, tapping the side of his head, cocking it slightly to the side.

I chuckled and rolled my eyes. "So, shall I read?"

Nico nodded enthusiastically, instantly turning into an excitable little child. "Oh, you bet!"

I laughed, thinking how adorable he was as I opened it up on Chapter 6.

We were close to the end of the book by the time the bus drew up to my stop. We got off the bus and walked the two streets to my house. We went inside and Kayla instantly ran up to me. "Will!" she shouted, looking distraught.

"What is it, Kay?" I asked, concerned.

Her bottom lip was wobbling. She held out her phone. "W… Will, I got a bloody _terr-i-fy-ing_ message from a man. It says that he knows where we live."

I shot Nico a look of panic. He instantly understood and yanked out his phone, scrolling down his call list, before yanking Kayla's phone from her hands and checking the number. His eyes were wide with terror. " _It's the same fucking number_ ," he gasped.

He dialled 911. I took his free hand and lead him into the front room. "Police," he gasped. Austin and Victoria put down their phones and books respectively, staring at Nico in a panic.

"There's… there's…" he began, before breaking down into tears.

I let him sit against my lap, holding him with one arm as I talked to the responding officer. "A man has been taking photos outside my friend Nico di Angelo's house. He's done it several times now. He did it once in the early morning, I can recall, and twice in the evenings, one just this evening. Recently, Nico got a phone call from the man, asking why he wasn't shouting out the window for him to 'go away!' with his sister. Just now, my little sister Kayla was sent a message saying she knew where we lived… No, Nico and I aren't related… We met just short of two weeks ago… The man is of average height, he usually wears a light-grey suit and a red tie. His hair is grey and he has a short beard… His skin's darkly tanned…"

"Do you have any idea who it is?"

"Hermes Castellan, but it's only a guess, of course," I replied.

I heard a grunt from the man on the other end. "We have no one named that on any records."

My heart leapt into my throat. Had I imagined the man's appearance? I knew it was Hermes!

"Oh, well… thank you ever so much, officer… Yes, I'll let the family know… Goodbye."

The call was cut and I placed my phone on the arm of the sofa. I mouthed 'Shoo!' at my siblings. "Hey, Angel, it's alright. I know it's overwhelming, but we've told the police now. They're probably going to catch that creep."

He nodded, swallowing. "Thanks, Sunshine. I'm going to call Bi, Haze, and Rey, telling them about the call."

I smiled and squeezed his hand, feeling a 'spark' pass between us. "Sure. Do you need privacy?"

He nodded uncertainly, which was barely noticeable. "Yeah, if that's alright with you."

I hugged him awkwardly around the shoulders, before walking into the Games Room to watch Kayla and Austin have a very back-and-fourth game of pool.

oOo

"Hey!" I smiled, opening the door.

"Hey, _Lover Boy_ ," Lou Ellen smirked teasingly.

"Sup?" Cecile grinned.

Lou Ellen peered over my shoulder, clearly searching for Nico. "Hey, where's Nico?" she asked.

I thumbed over my shoulder towards the living toom. Kayla walked out of the kitchen with an open tin of biscuits and cold milk on a tray. She gave my friends a lopsided wave, the tray tilting dramatically in her hand. I turned back to Lou. "Uh, it's… complicated. We called the police and now Nico's making calls to his family, Hazel and that lot."

" _Police_?" Cecile exclaimed, shocked. "Why?"

"Maybe someone attacked him," Lou muttered sarcastically.

I kicked her hard in the skin. "LOU!" I roared. "That is _too_ far!"

"I'm so sorry, Will. Yeah, I agree, that was going too far," she apologised hastily.

"Fucking idiot!" Austin called out, as he had heard the rude joke. "Don't say something like that again!"

"Jesus fucking Christ!" she exclaimed, holding her hands up in surrender and taking a step back, bumping into the door. "I'm _sorry_ , alright!?"


	18. Kiss - Nico

Rachel Elizabeth Dare was putting a tomato to shame. "What?! No…"

Reyna was blushing, red appearing behind her ears and at the nape of her neck. " _NICO DI ANGELO_!" she shrieked, her plait flying every which way.

I put a hand to my mouth so I wouldn't outright burst out laughing. "Go on, Reyna. We're not stopping you."

Solace shot me a look the probably meant something along the lines of ' _calm the fuck down'_ or ' _Holy Hephaestus Hand Grenades, quit it!'_ , but I just laughed in response.

Reyna folded her arms moodily. "Fine. But no cameras!"

Rachel looked rather pleased yet surprised at the same time. I had my camera poking out of my pocket to record it, while my poor trusting sister watched as everyone else put their phones away. Reyna pulled Rachel to her chest and kissed her passionately. I mimed gagging, while making sure to keep my camera steady. My heart was swelling with pride for the whole time they were kissing. I was so happy for my sister. Jason gave that little 'notice me' cough. "Mm- _hm_!?"

They forcefully pulled away from each other, blushing furiously. Reyna seemed as if she was crying and Rachel was as red as her hair. I was still filming at this point, and I was reaching to stop the video, when Reyna took Rachel's face in her hands and kissed her again. We all _stared_. As Reyna whispered something in Rachel's ear, I was distracted my Solace mouthing to himself 'Stop fucking recording them!', so I only saw Rachel's stiff nod out of the corner of my eye. We all started clapping, but I only clapped for the briefest second

Before pulling out my phone and grinning at them. Reyna almost hurled it out of the window and Rachel slapped me on the shoulder. Yes, I still have the video on my phone.

She gave me her evil eye. "Nico, you are _dead_ , you son of a serpent."

"Dad's not a serpent," I laughed, adjusting the aviator jacket I had put on to replace my leather jacket, which was in my bag.

She threw a cushion on me. "Jason, ToD?"

He took quickly chugged his eighth 'sour shot'. "Dare, again. Truth's _boring_!"

I bit my lip, keeping a grin at bay as I muttered, "Yeah, because last time just went _so_ well, didn't it?" Getting to my feet, I proposed an idea. "Reyna, will you forgive me if I give you a good idea?"

She smiled dangerously. "Partially, as I _did_ get a girlfriend out of your dare."

I almost cheered in happiness for her. My face was spilt into a huge grin.

I rolled my eyes when I saw her wink at Rachel, who just grinned goofily in response, utterly love-struck. I walked over to her, crouched down to her sitting level, and whispered my idea. "Copy-paste a bunch of different Nicholas Cage faces into a word document and print them all out, then stick them everywhere in the house!"

"Alright…" she grinned, contemplating my idea. "Percy, will you care if I use a bunch of the ink in your printer?"

Percy gave an indifferent shrug. "I trust you on this one, Reyna. I bet it'll be good, as Nico came up with it, so I don't care, as long as we get laughs out of it."

Reyna ran off to the printer and came back with fifteen pages crammed with Nicholas Cage faces. "You've got to stick one of these over the face of every photo in your house, then put them in books, in the fridge, on the toilet seat, in people's dinner, and watch your dad and sister slowly go mad," she announced to a confused Jason.

Jason laughed at me and turned to Annabeth, taking his next shot. His immunity to the sourness had gone with how long the dare had taken Reyna to complete, so he pulled the most hilarious face I'd seen in reaction to a sour taste. "Annie, truth or dare?"

"Dare: Perce says it gets boring when I do truths all the time."

Jason took a glass from Percy and immediately saw that it didn't contain smoothie. It looked like ketchup and cat barf. Delicious – note the sarcasm. "I want you to…" he began, sipping at the smoothie. "Oh!"

He studied the glass and he finally saw what was in the glass. "Dear fucking Zeus, that's _in_ that stuff!? PERCY!" he roared.

Percy burst out cackling. "C'mon, Jase! You didn't even _look_ at it before drinking. PRICELESS!"

Jason threw a cushion towards him. "Fuck off, Percy." He looked at me, then at Perce. "No smart comments, you two. Y'know…"

I chuckled, remembering what he was talking about. "Wouldn't dream of it!" Percy and I piped up together. "In answer to your question, it's hot sauce, ketchup, and mustard, with a little guacamole mixed in.

Jason ran to spit his drink into the sink and pour the rest of it down the skin. He ran to the kitchen and got himself some smoothie he turned to Annie and told her that her dare was to hug the tree on the edge of the sidewalk.

"LAME!" Annie snickered.

Jason pouted jokily. "Hey, I just drank that… _thing_. It's a little hard to think of a decent dare when your tongue's on fire!"

Annie hugged the tree while yelling, "I love trees!" to spruce up the dare a little more (Oh, Zeus above and Hades below, that was an _awful_ pun. I'm so sorry).

"Nico, truth or dare?" she asked me.

"Truth," I blurted, before seeing the michevious twinkle in her eyes. Shit, they could ask me _anything they wanted about Solace_. Uh, shit, shit, and double shit! ' _Why do I do this to myself?'_ I wondered. "Shit," I cursed quietly.

She was clearly having the same train of thought as me, as were the rest of the group, but Solace just sat there confused. Actually, just now, he asked me why everyone looked like they were close to committing a murder for _his_ writing. Oh, poor, oblivious Will.

"Don't worry, Nico," Annie grinned, and I let out a huge breath I didn't know I had been holding in, "I'm not _that_ mean."

They all laughed while Will simply sat there looking utterly confuzzled. When we eventually calmed down, Annie spoke up. "So," she began, before pausing to catch her breath a little. "Okay, sorry about that. I'm taking this opportunity to ask you a genuine question."

"Get on with it, Wise Girl," I muttered, quite loud so everyone would hear. The anticipation is worse than the question itself, after all. "I didn't ask for a speech, so stop speaking like a British person."

Everyone chuckled a little, nudging Annie and doing awful impressions of 'British People' (read: wealthy Victorian gentleman) and sipping imaginary cups of tea. Eventually, Annie managed to continue. "Why do you never answer anyone's text messages on Saturday afternoons?"

That hit me harder than she knew. Everyone thought I'd been grieving for like six years straight, but that wasn't true. At the ages of eight, nine, ten, and eleven, I'd spent an abnormally long time in the 'shock' phase of grief. My doctor almost diagnosed me as a sociopath and he also thought I had a mental disorder than means you don't have the mental capacity to grieve. But no, I just spent the second-longest time ever recorded in the shock stage (the longest being a 17-year-old British girl in the stage since she was eleven and is predicted to be out of it at the age of twenty-one). When I was twelve, I came dangerously close to a mental breakdown and after this I had severe emotional breakdowns every time I went to the grave and minor breakdowns other times too, so that was one serve emotional breakdown each week. Thanks for using truth or dare to ask me something that personal, Annie.

I stiffened. "Never you mind!" I blurted out defensively, before remembering that I had sworn on Styx to always answer truths.

"C'mon," she smirked, simply thinking that I was refusing to be annoying.

I flipped her off. "Ask Solace," I murmured, drawing my knees to my chest.

She stepped over to Solace, who gave me a look of sadness. Not sympathy or pity, just pure, empathetical sadness. He whispered something to Annabeth and her eyes widened. "Oh, shit, I'm sorry, Nico."

I was too upset to shoot her my death glare, so Jason did for me, as well as Solace giving him a half-hearted angry look. I took a few seconds to calm down. I took a huge breath and turned to Leo. "Valdes, ToD?"

"Dare!"

I snickered, suddenly having a hilarious idea. "So, swap clothes with Piper. _Not_ underwear, though. I don't want to embarrass you _too_ bad."

They ran to get changed. Leo was wearing Piper's showy blue vest top and her bright white shorts, while Piper donned Lep's greasy shirt, tan pants, and goofy supenders.

Leo blushed awkwardly and Piper pursed her lips. They headed into Percy's room and passed their clothes through the bathroom door. Piper's outfit was fit for the warm September weather, so, needless to say, it was rather… showy. He was wearing a blue vest top with a showy neckline and short shorts. And it looked ridiculous. Piper somehow managed to pull of the look of the tan cargo pans, greasy white shirt, and red suspenders, looking great for some reason.

Piper sat down, smirking. "Leo, who ya gonna get?"

He folded his arms 'stropilly'. "You, for picking this stupid outfit."

She put a hand to her heart. "Oh, you offend me!" she gasped, fake falling backwards.

Everyone laughed. "So, I pick truth," she muttered, from the floor, letting Leo pull her up.

Leo moaned quietly. "Fuck you, I had a really good dare."

She smirked. "I knew you would. Precisely why I didn't pick dare."

I was in stitches. "Leo said 'fuck you', y'know."

Jason and Percy looked at me, disturbed. "EWWWW, Ni-co!"

"I know," I smirked.

Leo tried tog et the attention back to himself. "So, what's the strangest inside joke you've ever had?"

 _ **Two years ago…**_

"So, you ship me with your imaginary serial killer called Perry, correct?" Piper asked.

"Yop!" Jason muttered through a mouthful of chips.

Piper frowned. "Let me get this straight: Perry is going to buy _the White Hourse_ for me, but he's going the fuck the Prime Minister in _my_ new mansion?"

The entire group burst out laughing.

 _ **Back to the game…**_

"Well, it's gotta be the Buckingham Palace thing."

All the other burst out laughing, expect me Solace, Octavian, Rachel, and Luke. "What?"  
Piper explained and I was howling with laughter over my dorky friends.

She turned to me. "Nico, ToD?"

As Solace has probably told you, we were both on shaky ground no matter what option we chose. "Truth," I groaned begrudgingly.

" _Please_ , do me a favour and explain that weird 'fuck me, fuck you, fuck off, fuck this' joke."

I snorted. "Well, six months ago, Percy tripped down the stairs…"

 _ **Six Months Ago…**_

Percy tripped down the stairs. "Fuck me…" he grumbled.

I smirked. "Absolutely not!" I grinned.

"Ohhhh, you're thinking about it in _that_ context!" he grinned, picking up his books as we walked back to our classroom across the courtyard.

"No shit, Sherlock," I grinned.

"So, if fuck me means… well, you know, does that mean fuck you means that you're _asking_ to fuck me?"

I turned bright red, as I still liked Percy back then. "Oh, fuck off."

"What does that mean? Does it mean you're telling me to go _off_ to fuck?" he smirked. "And fuck this means fuck whatever you're talking about?"

I shuttered, extremely disturbed and 'scarred for life', as I joked about it later. "I'll never be able to tell someone to fuck off comfortably again. It _would_ work with a matchmaker… but…"

 _ **Back to the game…**_

"So, then I said, 'I'll never be able to tell someone to fuck off comfortably again. It would work with a matchmaker…' Then Piper joined the conversation and we had to switch to something sane," I finished.

Everyone was laughing too much to comprehend. I turned to Percy, who's laughing had died down pretty quickly. "Percy, truth or dare?"

"Sorry to be boring, but truth," he replied.

"Oh, it's no problem. What would you do with a million dollars?" I blustered.

"I'd buy my mum a bigger house, then I'd but an engagement ring, then I'd take Annie to a bookstore and get her whatever books she wants," I explained.

"And, Perce wins best boyfriend award for the billionth time in a row!" Leo cried in a mocking announce-y voice.

He smirked. "I can't help it."

"Aww, thanks, Perce," Annabeth blushed.

We all rolled our eyes. Perce stood up and I gulped a little, worried. "Okay, that's enough truth or dare. 7 Minutes in Heaven, anyone?"

Octavian answered his phone, and I instantly got worried, as, last time, it was his dad finding out about… yeah. "Hey, Dad… What? I haven't done anythi- Ohhh, right… Why don't you talk to Rachel as well?... You've already talked to her?... Have not!... Oh, wha- Okay, fine, I'll be there… Bye."

He cut the call in a wild panic. "Rachel, has Dad already talked to you?"

Rachel awkwardly ruffled the hair around her shoulders. "Erm... Yeah, he has. I'll tell them about my… ahem… _thing_ tonight. G'luck."

Octavian scowled and flicked her shoulder playfully. Luke pulled out his phone as we were about to begin. "Hang on, I need to ask when I gotta go home."

He frowned when he got a reply from his dad. "Get back now," he read aloud. "Huh, strange. Dad's so overprotective. Earlier, he asked who I was hanging out with and when I said Nico's name, he looked at me like I'd just committed an atrocity! I swear, he's out for your blood, Nico!"

Oh, thanks for enforcing that stupid Greek God metaphor, Luke. "Yeah, right. I hope that was a metaphor!"

"Oh, you never know!" he called back as he walked out.

Annabeth handed us each a perfectly cut square of paper. I drew a quick skull with angel wings set behind them, in a black pen with somewhat decent shading. We all put our paper in the famous hat from our school Bugsy Malone performance (he accidentally knocked out our principle when winging it into the crowd – in the same performance that I dislocated my finger afterwards doing my character 'cracking knuckles' action).

"Rules: you have to at least cuddle," Annabeth started, before being interrupted by a few glares. "The other person, so you don't _have_ to kiss. If you kiss, we can all say it's your own choice. We have full permission to tease you if you kiss, unless you're a couple/a pair we ship."

We all nodded, but I looked at Will, as we were both utterly suspicious of her last sentence. We all took out our papers. Solace took his own, so he put it back in and took out another. I got one with a pile of jewels, gold, and necklaces draw on it, with excellent shading. Will's already explained to rules to you – I think -, I'll start with Percy's go.

He got Calypso. We started joking about them having sex in the cupboard until Annie told us to shut the fucking Hades up.

When Bi came in, it was Reyna and Jason's turn. She sat between me and Percy, texting Zoe and generally keeping herself to herself. Suddenly, she turned to me, fire in her eyes. Nico, we're calling the cops as soon as that man takes photos of our house again. This isn't a matter of discussion. I do not _care_ what you say. The man has greying hair, usually wearing a grey suit and a red tie. He wears brown loafers and he has very tanned skin. We. Are. Reporting. Him."

I nodded, scared of my sister when she put on that tone. I knew it was for the best. To protect my family. "Of course, Bi. It's the best idea." Everyone gave me a thumbs-up and I buried my face in my hands, blushing as Will gave me a one-armed hug.

I blushed when I Will held up my picture. "Nico?"

I nodded and we want into the closet. At first, we sat opposite sides, but I quickly moved over to sit beside my crush. He pulled me into his lap and I nuzzled into his chest. He awkwardly threaded his hand into my hair. "You alright?"

"Yeah," I murmured, closing my eyes.

He started messing around with my hair, until Percy yelled, "Guys, seven minutes are up!"

I frantically scrambled to get up so I could help _Will_ to his feet. Suddenly, I got the strongest urge to kiss him. I yanked him down by the front of his t-shirt and kissed him on the forehead, smiling.

"Angel…" he began softly, making my heart flutter.

I somehow managed to keep it together, not knowing what came over me. "I'm joking, Sunshine, don't worry about it."

When we left, Perce waggled his eyebrows and asked if we'd had sex in there. I slapped him and yelled, "Percy, stop being so weird!", my face bright red.

We shared embarrassing moments until we were all close to suffocating with laughter. "Okay, I think that's enough!" Annabeth gasped. "We'll do the food…"

I caught Will's eye and we both smirked, chanting, "Double meaning!"

"We're not going to fuck our food, you immature morons," she sighed. "We'll _get_ the food," she carried on, sighing a fond sigh. "Then I think it's 'home time'."

She paused, and I knew she had somehow realised that there was an error in her wording. "Gods, I sound like I'm trying to get rid of you!"

Everyone laughed and assured her she didn't sound like that. Everyone laughed and helped their significant others to their feet. Will and I smiled at each other as we got to our feet. As we ran towards the kitchen, Will smashed right into my English teacher, Paul Blofis. Will was stuttering hilariously as he got to his feet, while I gasped for breath through my laughter. "C'mon, Sunshine, get up. Paul, I apologise for my utter goofball of a best friend."

Paul laughed awkwardly. "It's not problem, erm…"

"Will."

"C'mon!" Perce yelled from the kitchen, everything flying off his cocktail stick and onto Piper's hair. "The food's gonna go soon!"

We ran in, Paul grinning at us as we went.

Later, nearly all the food has disappeared. Percy opened another pizza when Leo complained that he hadn't eaten enough. We sat around chatting, until we started to leave on Sally's orders. After making sure that Piper would be dropped off at Will's by her dad, we left after Leo, Jason, and Bianca, and before Reyna and Rachel.

When we got on the bus, Will pulled out Artemis Fowl and I instantly looked like a little kid. "Nice one, Solace. Thinking ahead."

He laughed, rolling his eyes. "So, shall I read?"

"Oh, you bet!" I ordered.

He chuckled, shaking his head and opening up Chapter 6.

When we got to Will's house, Kayla pratically threw herself on top of my friend, stuttering, "W... Will…"

He stooped slightly. "What is it, Kayla."

"W… Will, I got a scary message from a man. It says that he knows where we live."

A feeling of pure fury, rage and anger boiled up inside me. I was already halfway to unlocking my phone when Will shot me that look. I grabbed Kayla's phone and almost fainted. "It's the same fucking number," I whispered, horrified.

I dialled 911 and Will escorted me into the living room. "Police," I rasped.

Everyone in the room turned to look at me. "There's… there's…" I managed, before breaking down into sobs. I was terrified. I was being stalked. This man could hurt the people I knew, or much, much worse. Will gently took the phone from me and began to talk to the man on the other end, while I sat in his lap and sobbed, thinking of horrible, horrific things. I barely payed attention to what he was talking about, too focused on listening to his thudding heart and rubbing my sore eyes. "Hey, Angel, it's alright," he whispered to me. "I know it's overwhelming, but we've told the police now. They're probably going to catch that creep."

I swallowed hard. "Thanks, Sunshine. I'm going to call Bi, Haze, and Reyna, telling them about the call."

I sighed and opened my contacts. Ah, this was going to be difficult.


	19. Sleepover - Will

**Thanks for continuing to read my story! (Sorry for the long authors' note in advance.)**

 **The reason this went up them got taken down is because I uploaded it, then replaced it with the edited version, then realised I'd made a mistake, so I thought 'eh, fuck it' and took the whole chapter down and re-uploaded it again. Sorry.**

 **So, I'm going to enjoy the nice, sweet, kind reviews while I can, because, when I upload Ch. 21, I'll have knives at my throat and threats filling up my inbox. However, I** _ **can**_ **promise that no one dies. Expect Hermes. I might kill Hermes.** _ **Any**_ **way, let's get onto review replies! (By the way, bold** _ **italics**_ **in [square brackets] is the review, the bold is me)**

 **Deathly Huggles: By the way, I love your name.** _ **[Hah**_ _ **ahhahahahhahaha! I love this! Can't wait 'til next Thursday!]**_ **Aww, thank you!** _ **[Hope you have fun with whatever you're doing!]**_ **I was in Cyprus and yes, I did have a good time, thanks! Side note, if any of you ever go there, go to Paphos and check out the Greek god/goddess mosaics. Holy shit, they're amazing!** _ **[I'm seriously wondering though, when are we going to meet Rachel and Octavian's parents? We always here parts of conversations when they are on the phone but we never meet him.]**_ ***facepalms* Thanks for the idea, DH!** _ **[Please treat yourself to some blue cookies for your b**_ _ **r**_ _ **eak]**_ **Thank you, they were lovely!** **And, gods, get an account, I want to PM you! (And yes, yes you can punch Hermes.)**

 **WizardingWhovian: Can you also get an account when you can? I'd really love to PM you!** _ **[That guy is really creepy]**_ **I actually intended for him to be a side character but he's weaved his way into the main plot.** _ **[And there's no Hermes Castellan in the records, what?]**_ **This will come to light eventually, I assure you!** _ **[Then how… What is going on here?]**_ **You are so genuinely confused it made me laugh. Thank you for brightening up my day!**

I walked into the front room, smiling when I saw my crush passed out on the sofa. I knelt on one knee and gently shook his shoulders. "Angel, Angel, wake up."

His eyes gradually cracked open and he blinked quickly. "Su… Sun… Sunshine?"

I gently took his thin hands and helped him up. "Oh, sorry," he muttered, realising he had fallen asleep. "Lou Ellen and Cecile are here?" he questioned.

I nodded, excited, taking his hands and yanking him to the door.

We went to the kitchen and got a bunch of sweets and stuff from the sweet drawer. We headed up to my room, Nico staying silent as Lou and Cecile brought up the most _random_ of topics.

"What's this about police?" Lou asked randomly.

He winced a little and began to talk. "So, just after I met Solace here, this guy, who we _think_ we know, was taking photos of our house…"

"Bullshit," Lou coughed out after an awkward silence.

" _What_?!" Nico exclaimed, not bothering to hide his shock.

"I call bullshit," she repeated slowly, even though it was needless.

"I… Fine, I believe you," she sighed, defeated.

"So you should," Nico retaliated.

There was a knock on the door and I heard my dad being bombarded with thanks from downstairs. Then, an excited-looking Piper McLean appeared at the door of the bedroom. "Hey!"

"Ciao!"

"Sup!"

"Hey!"

"Hi!"

She flopped down on the couch beside Lou and smiled at us. "What'd I miss?"

"Nothin' much," Nico admitted. "So, are we gonna FaceTime Perce and Jason for truth or dare?"

Lou, Cecile and I nodded and I got out my laptop, opening up Skype. Nico did the same and soon, Percy and Annabeth were visible on the screen. I sent an invite to Jason's Skype name, and he accepted a few seconds after Nico sent him a few impatient texts. However, the sound was simply _refusing_ to work, so Jason and I were frantically communicating through gestures, and loud yelling or the quietest whispering, depending whether the sound had changed to abnormally quiet or inhumanly loud.

"Hey, guys," he yawned when we got it working.

We had positioned Nico's laptop right opposite mine, both on the floor, so they could easily see each other while us three sat around in a circle on the carpet.

"Hey," we all chuckled back.

He looked over my shoulder (my back was to the window, regrettably) and his eyes widened. "What the bloody fucking Hades below?" he blurted, pointing over my shoulder. Everyone was staring at Jason now. "The window!"

Nico was beside me, with his back towards to window too, and Percy and Annabeth couldn't see from the screen, so Nico and I had to slowly turn around to see the window. However, Lou and Cecile instantly shrieked when they saw the window.

Lou Ellen is, and was, a tough gal, so hearing her scream was soul-wracking. I leapt up and stuck my head out of the window. My room's at the side of the house, so this wasn't very convenient, but what I _did_ see was horrifying. I saw a black van with no number-plate speeding down the road at a stupid speed. I got a glimpse of that creep in the grey jacket and the matching trousers, and my heart dropped in my chest. It hammered in my rib cage and Lou says she's never seen me as pale as I was. Nico's eyes were filled with fear and my hands twitched. "It's that _creep_ ," I hissed.

Nico's face was even paler than usual. "I'll kill him," he growled. " _I'll kill him_!"

Jason looked between us, utterly confused. "What?"

Nico took a strong, unwavering breath, but I felt him breaking inside. "I'm alright. Just… give me a moment."

He stood up and left the room. I anxiously told them to start the game without me and followed Nico out of the room.

I found him sat with his back against the wall, sobbing his very heart out. "Oh, Angel," I murmured.

He turned his tear-stained face towards me. "Su… Sunshine?"

"I'm right here, Angel," I murmured.

He fell towards me and sobbed and sobbed and sobbed as I rocked him in my lap, holding his head. "Oh, Angel, you're going to be alright. I'll be with you every step of this battle, I promise."

"Why?" he choked out. "I'm such a… problem. It would be so much easier to… leave me, I guess."

I tucked his hair behind his ear. "We'll talk this over tomorrow, yeah?"

He nodded and wiped away his tears. I helped him up and lead him back to my bedroom. We played ToD and told hilarious stories until eleven, when we turned on a PIXAR movie and guzzled down our sweets.

oOo

Eventually, Nico fell asleep on my shoulder. I chuckled and lifted him onto the mattress he would be sleeping on. Lou Ellen laughed and called us 'cute'. I laughed, flicking her in the head and sitting back down with my popcorn.

"Here: fizzy rainbow laces," Lou offered, holding out the long, thick, plastic package.

I took it gratefully and opened it. Suddenly, I shriek echoed through the room. I turned to my sleeping friend in a panic, only to see him curled into the foetal position, with tears running down his face and his mouth open in a silent scream. I gently slid down onto his mattress and pulled him into my lap. "Neeks, Neeks, wake up," I whispered.

Lou Ellen and Cecile smiled knowingly at each other, then turned up the sound on the TV so I could comfort Nico without fear of being heard. "Angel, it's alright, I'm here for you," I whispered. "Just wake up and you'll be outta there!"

He shifted in my arms and whimpered fretfully, but, when I took the odd chance of twirling his hair around my fingers, his face relaxed into a soft, peaceful smile. I laid him back down and climbed back onto my bed. However, I soon felt a thick hand circling my wrist. "Stay with me," Nico rasped weakly. "…Please?"

I moved down to his bed again smiled when he wrapped himself around me. I moved to put my hands around his waist and was shocked at how thin he was. Was he still starving himself? Now that I thought about it, I didn't see him at the school canteen most days, and he never ate much at _all_ when I was with him. I made a silent promise to heal him no matter what. I could never make the pain go away completely, but I could at least have a pretty decent shot at it.

My leg hit something soft that made a crackling noise. I reached my hand down and brought out _all_ the food we'd given to him over the course of the night. I quietly placed all the stuff on my bed and pulled the cover up to his neck. "I'm going to help you, Nico, I promise."

He nodded, half asleep, mumbling his thanks, but my next question _fully_ woke him up. "How long have you been doing this to yourself?"

"For almost ten weeks when I was twelve, then on-and-off since the…"

I knew the coming word was 'stalker', so I didn't make him finish his sentence, as he was already on the verge of crying. "Hey, hey. I'm not ashamed of you, Angel, and I never will be. You're a strong person, Angel, but you've been put down. You're a miracle for surviving all of this, you know that, right?"

He buried his face into my chest, embarrassed horribly. "You're not too bad yourself, Solace," he mumbled.

I chuckled and took a couple of rainbow strips from the pack of sweets. Nico anxiously held out a hand. "Erm, can I try?"

"You _did_ say on-and-off, didn't you?" I mused rhetorically.

He nodded. "Yeah, I was really happy today, so it kinda took my mind off… it, y'know?"

I smiled. "I get it, Nico." I handed him a sour lace and he gingerly placed it on his tongue, pulling a hilarious face.

We ate a few more packets between the four of us, telling stupid stories until Lee told us to shut the fuck up and go to sleep. Nico begged to share the bed with me, terrified of the stalker and not wanting to have another nightmare. I _had_ been having nightmares myself, and they were probably no better than mine, so I was sort of anxious to agree. Lou Ellen managed to convince me and Nico laid behind beside me, his head on my shoulder and our hands twined together. The second he thought I was asleep, he twined himself around me and I kissed his neck lightly. He went bright red and I just chuckled and pulled him closer.

oOo

The next morning, we woke up at nine. Nico was back on his mattress, having crawled back during the night. When Cecile woke up, he instantly demanded food. Austin terrified the shit out of all of us by sticking his head round the door. I almost had a heart attack, in fact. He said, " _Food_?" in this hilarious voice that made us all burst out laughing. Lou chuckled and tossed a bag of huge-ish marshmallows at him. "Chubby Bunny?" he asked, grinning.

She nodded eagerly and Austin led us into his room. On the way, I told Nico that I assumed Austin wanted us to make a video of it with him. His YouTube channel was growing rapidly (75, 342, 654 Subscribers, actually), so new videos were eagerly awaited, so, of course, Austin _instantly_ pounces on any new video ideas and opportunities. Austin set up his best camera on a tripod in the garden and we all sat down at the wooden slatted table on the wooden slatted chairs. Austin was sat in the centre, with me on his right as you looked at the video, with Nico on the _far_ right. Cecile was on his other side, with Lou on the far left.

He got Lee to start the video and he instantly lit up, as he always did on camera. "Wassup, YouTube? Austin Online here, and today we're going to be doing the Chubby Bunny Challenge!" he introduced breezily. "I'm here with…"

"Hey-ya, I'm Solace Shine!" I suddenly realised that Nico had to totally _make up_ an introduction for himself, bit, one look at the calm and collected half-smile on his face assured me that he had it covered.

"Sup, everyone?" Cecile grinned lazily. "Celery Styx here!"

"Greetin's, world, I'm Mist Girl!" Lou chirped cheerily, a manic grin spread across her features.

"Ciao, ragazzi, ragazze, e tutto il resto!"(Hi, guys, girls, and everything in between!) Nico nervously began. "Death Boy here!" Oh, by the way, that means 'Hi, guys, girls, and everything in between!'

I rolled my eyes and he stuck his tongue out at me. Austin gave us both a look and we instantly canned it. He smirked at the camera. "So, once these two immature morons have finished flirt-fighting, we'll get on with the challenge!"

"Hey!" we protested weakly, but didn't pursue the matter any further. Well, _I_ didn't, because I distinctly heard Nico mutter, " _Cazzo tu, Stronza_ ," (which basically translates to 'fuck you, asshole') under his breath.

"My 'editor' – aka Will here - is going to edit a counter at the bottom of the screen for each person."

"If you're nice to me," I retorted playfully, folding my arms.

Everyone chuckled at me and turned back to the camera. "Okay," Austin announced. "Nico, you first."

He grudgingly accepted the bag, commenting, "I don't eat much, so don't be surprised if I throw up," before stuffing one into his mouth rather easily. "Chubby Bunny."

We hastily passed the bag over to Lou. She shoved one into her mouth. Side note: she doesn't need those expending braces things as both her jaws are the same size, but her mouth is bordering on midget. "Chubby Bunny," she mumbled.

We passed around the bag until Nico jumped up and ran over to the bin we had set out, with 9 marshmallows in his mouth. He didn't just spit out all his marshmallows: he threw up. I winced and ran inside to get him a drink and some medicine. Austin said, "Hold on," and we paused the video.

"Here, drink up," I ordered, holding out the water.

He took a huge gulp and spat into the sink, before taking small sips of the beverage. "I don't need meds, don't worry. I'm just not used to having that much in my mouth."

"What happened, then?" Lou asked.

He set down the drink and took the barley sugar I was offering him. "I'm fine, honestly. I put too many in my mouth and one touched the back of my throat, so I threw up."

Lou nodded and went back out with Austin and Cecile. I filled a water bottle for him and we turned the camera on again. "So, we're back, and Nico's fine, right?" Austin asked.

Nico nodded. "Yup, I'm cool."

"What _did_ happen?" Cecile asked.

He sighed. "So, a marshmallow touched the back of my throat, my body thought I was choking and inflicted the natural reaction: throwing up. Nothing major."

Eventually, Austin was the only one left, with 12. "I win!" he announced after hawking up the sugary mouthful into the bin. Michael took out the plastic bag and threw it into the bin, sighing at our antics.

" _Vaffanculo_!" Nico exclaimed.

Now, I had taken the liberty of learning a few curse words in different languages the year before, so I could cuss in my classes without getting told off, and I was pretty sure it translated to 'go fuck yourself'.

When we finished the video, Austin took the video to watch through, adding markers where I needed to edit.

oOo

It was almost lunch time, after Lou and Cecile had left, when I got a call from Octavian. Nico was playing pool against Michael and losing spectacularly. "Hey, Will, I have a big _what the fuck_ to tell you."

"Oh gods, yeah?" I asked, already knowing what he was going to say.

"Luke almost got arrested just now."

"What the _fuck_?!" I exclaimed. ' _Okay, I was wrong,'_ I thought. ' _Not at all what I was expecting.'_

He swallowed thickly. "His dad's gone away for the week and apparently someone made a police call saying a Castellan had been stalking them and he's the only living Castellan."

' _Oh, yeah? He hasn't 'gone away'. He's taken the time off to stalk me and my best friend,'_ I thought. "What about his dad?" I asked.

Octavian sighed. "You know about the prison thing, right?"

"Yeah…"

"He changed his name to something-or-other after the whole 'prison thing', but I continue to call him Hermes."

I nodded. "Okay. Is Luke alright?"

"A little shaken, sure, but otherwise okay," he replied.

"What are they going to do about the stalking thing?" I asked.

"They're leaving it. They think it's a prank call from someone trying to get some sort of revenge on him," he explained.

"Okay, thanks, Octavian," I replied.

"Bye."

"Bye," I sighed.

I decided to keep this from Nico, afraid that, if I told him, the mental breakdown that had been impending since he was twelve might finally crash to earth and wreck him entirely. I simply took ten minutes to compose myself and went to watch all my siblings crushing my best friend in pool.

oOo

"Hey, hey, are you alright, Angel?" I asked quietly, holding out my arms. I was scared beyond my wildest imagination too, but I wasn't going to let it show.

He shook his head and slid into my lap, his arms wrapping tight around me. "He… he could hurt me… and Haze, Bi, and Rey… the stalker… he could do much, much worse…." He was working himself up into a terrified mental state, letting out little yelps and shrieks as he blindly grabbed the material of my sweater, yanking the fabric into his clenched fists and twisting it sharply. As the tears flowed freely down his face and soaked the front of my hoodie, I rocked him gently in my arms.

"Hey, Angel, it's gonna be alright," I whispered, tracing patterns on his hands. "If something happens, I'll be there for you, Neeks. I promise."

Nico leant into me and relinquished his grip on my hoodie, but I could feel that his muscles were still tense. "Why do you put up with me, Sunshine?" he rasped, sobbing with raw anguish. "I've got depression, anxiety, suicidal tendencies, and anorexia! Not to mention that I'm creepy, I look like a _Goth_ , and I'm the weirdest person _ever_!"

"You've had a hard life, Angel. You're a strong, beautiful person. Your doctors called you a sociopath because you were just a little bit more different than they were used to. You have severe emotional break-downs every week, yet you're still going strong. You're managing to beat an eating disorder and you're on the road to recovery. You're interesting, unique, fascinating person with an amazing personality. I've fallen for you hard, Angel. All of that and more is the reason why I stick around."

His eyes widened in a gleeful mix of shock and pleasure and he rested his forehead against mine. My heart was hammering in my chest and my mind whirled to horrible places, wondering if I had somehow ruined our friendship. His soft lips parted and his beautiful voice glided out, laced with the familiar, thick Italian accent. " _Ti amo_ , Sunshine."

I knew what that meant, my voice catching in my throat when I realised. 'I love you'. He had told me that he loved me. And, finally, I realised that I, really and truly, as deep as my life ran, loved him with all my heart. He brushed my jawline with his long, thin fingers. "Sunshine, I've never had a relationship with, well… _anyone_ before, so… could we take it slow, perhaps?"

I nodded, drawing him closer to me, if that was physically possible. I slowly shifted my position to laying down on my tattered, old, shiny couch, followed by Nico mirroring my every move. He was lying down beside me, his arms around me, our legs twined together, and his face buried into my chest. "You alright, Angel?"

"Yeah," he mumbled.

"Good," I replied. "I don't want you to ever get hurt."

After a while, Nico turned up his calm face towards me, only to see the cool tears rolling down my face. "Will," he gasped, saying my first name (which he rarely used) in his shock. "You're _crying_!"

I scrunched my eyebrows together in an effort to stop my tears. Nico held my face and wiped my tears away with his thumbs. For once, it was him comforting me, with his beautiful, hypnotising voice. "Oh, Sunshine. Don't worry. I promise that I'll protect you."

I smiled at him warmly and threaded my long fingers into his silky black hair. He locked eyes with me again, a soft smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. Will…" he began. "Can I kiss you?"

My heart instantly swelled. "Yes…" I mumbled.

I leant forwards, anxious to close the gap between our lips. My cheeks were a little red, but Nico's were an adorable pink. My heart hammered into my chest and I thought that this was wrong. ' _I shouldn't be like this!'_ I panicked. ' _This is wrong! Wrong!'_

Nico muttered, "Oh, Sunshine," and closed the gap between our lips. His cold lips pressed against mine in a pure and simple kiss. " _Ti amo_ ," I whispered to him.

His face was a flaming scarlet as I mumbled " _Ti amo_ ," into the kiss.

When we broke apart, he was smiling, as was I. Shivers ran down my spine and my lips tingled with a hungry excitement. He buried his face into my chest again. I took his hand and traced heart patterns, 'I love you', and 'It's alright' onto the back of it.

Eventually, we broke away from each other's arms. "Thanks," Nico murmured. "You're a great help."

"No problem," I murmured back, helping my new boyfriend to sit up. "I always want to help you. I always will."

He buried his blushing face in my hoodie, muttering " _Ti amo_ ," over and over.

I chuckled and ruffled his hair a little, kissing the top of his head. "Shall we watch that 'Show 'em What You're Made Of' thing?" I asked him, loosely lacing my fingers together.

"Yeah!" he exclaimed suddenly, jumping in his seat, instantly turning into an adorable little boy, excited by something he really, really wanted.

I chuckled and turned on my TV, finding 'Show 'em What You're Made Of', which was paused at the very start of the third episode, just where I had left it. "Hang on, I'm gonna go get us some candy and stuff."

I went downstairs and grabbed an 8 pack of Mars Bars, two bags of Squashies, and two tubes of Pringles from the sweet drawer. Before I could go back upstairs, I was bopped on the head with a rainbow umbrella – a.k.a Kayla's way of way of getting people's attention – and hit on the cheek with a calculator. "What in _Hades_ , Kay?" I exclaimed.

"Whatcha watchin'?" she asked sweetly.

"How did you know I was watching something?" I asked suspiciously, suddenly worried that she'd seen what Nico and I were doing. It wasn't indecent, as you know, just a little embarrassing.

"Wi-Fi, remember?" she replied, tapping her foot impatiently.

I cocked my head, utterly confused. She sighed, rolled her eyes, and elaborated. "Wi-Fi shuts down when you turn your TV on sometimes. Austin had to help me boot it up again."

I nodded. "Fair enough."

I raced upstairs with the food, but I had barely sat down by the time Kayla was rapping on the door. "Sunn-y!" she whined, her knuckles repeatedly striking the door. "I wanna watch to-o!"

"Gods, she's _so_ babyish when she wants to be!" I whispered-yelled to Nico, who giggled a little bit.

I wrapped my arms around him from behind, as he was on my lap. He nuzzled his head underneath my chin.

"Kayla, we're not going to get our way if we…" Austin began, voice muffled.

There was a sharp crack and Austin's words petered off into a harsh coughing, and I could only assume Kayla had forcefully slapped a hand over his mouth. "Can. We. Come. In?" she snapped, clearly enunciating each word, as if she was talking to a child.

Nico quickly shifted off my lap and settled down beside me. "Come in!" I called.

They burst in, the door slamming back into the wall, where the wallpaper was already rubbed away to the brown, furry-ish paper behind it from the doorknob _constantly_ digging into the wall. Austin was rubbing the area around his mouth in pain, Kayla boisterously striding towards the couch. Austin sat beside me, Kayla beside _him_. "So, what's this show, then?"

Nico's eyes lit up sweetly and he immediately explained. Kayla was laughing by the end of his explanation, as he sounded so stupidly excited. Kayla sat back and began to watch. I slid an arm around Nico and he leant into me. He kissed me on the cheek and I blushed, my insides just melting for him.

I took a deep breath. As long as Nico didn't ask about the police investigation, I would be able to live my life and let him believe that it was being investigated by police, rather than the truth: they had dropped the investigation, and we were _still being stalked_.


	20. Sleepover - Nico

"Thanks, Kayla," I smiled, calling Bianca. "Hey, Bi!" I chirped.

"Nico, have you been crying?" she asked, gasping.

"No time for that!" I blurted. "We called the police!"

She clapped her hands, once, sharply, her phone falling to the seat beside her. "Yes!" she shirked extatically. " _Soldatino_ , thanks so much!"

I smiled, glad my sister was truly happy. "It's no problem, Bi. Kayla got a creepy-ass text message, so I decided to call. Oh, all we have to do when we want them to watch outside the house with a _police cruiser_ … their offer, not my suggestion… we just call the non-emergency hotline and tell them that they can come 'steak out' our house. All we gotta do is tell them that we told Dad."

She chuckled. "Ah, of course, _Soldatino_. Anyway, I've gotta go: Monopoly's waiting."

"Four hours of your life you'll never get back," I quipped. "Don't murder anyone!"

I could literally _feel_ her rolling her eyes. "Nico, that's ridiculous. We all know that you only _ever_ murder someone over _Scrabble_!"

I burst out laughing. "See ya, sis."

"See you, _Soldatino_."

I sighed with relief, feeling like a huge weight has been lifted off my chest and I could breathe freely again. I leant back into the old, sagging couch, allowing the Realm of Dreams to claim my mind, if only for a brief time.

I woke to Will crouched in front of me, his warm breath dusting my cheeks. "Angel," he whispered softly. "Angel, wake up."

I rubbed at my eyes blearily. "Su… Sun… Sunshine?" I stuttered, sitting forward.

He smiled, taking my hands and helping me up. "Oh, sorry," I murmured. "Lou Ellen and Cecile are here?"

He nodded in excitement, eagerly grabbing my wrist and pulling me out of the room.

We slowly headed to his room after grabbing a whole bunch of sweets, chips, and chocolate from his kitchen that I most certainly _wasn't_ going to eat. As we walked up the stairs Lou, Will, and Cecile were blabbering senselessly about whatever random shit came to their minds, bit I stayed decidedly quiet, contemplating just how badly I had fallen for my best friend, and how much I loved him.

"What's this about police?" Lou asked once we had settled in Will's room.

"So, just after I met Solace here, this guy, who we _think_ we know, was taking photos of our house…"

When I was done, all eyes were on me, even Will's and Cecile's jaw was almost touching the ground. Will jokingly reached out and pushing it shut, grinning ruefully.

"Bullshit," Lou Ellen blurted finally.

"What?" I exclaimed back, incredulous. Why would I lie about something like _that_ , exactly?

"I call bullshit," she finally repeated, despite the fact I had heard her the first time.

I stared at her with a raised eyebrow and she finally gave in. "I… Fine I believe you."

"So you should," I spat back.

I heard a familiar pattern of knocks on the door and a sweet chattering voice thanking Apollo as the owner of the voice charged up the stairs. Soon, one of my best friends was waving and grinning at the bedroom door. "Hey!" she chirruped.

"Ciao!" I grinned.

"Sup!" Cecile called.

Lou Ellen spoke up next. "Hey!"

"Hi!" Will replied.

She sat down on the couch next to Lou, smiling like the carefree and cheery person she was. "What'd I miss?"

I smiled at her, as it was hard not for her amazing personality to make me cheery and kind. On the outside, anyway. "Nothin' much. SO, are we gonna FaceTime Perce and Jason for truth or dare?"

We had talked about this during the times when it _wasn't_ our turn in 7 Minutes in Heaven. Will pulled out his laptop and I took out mine, getting Percy and Annie onto the screen. They had it on the coffee table in the lounge, placed on a stack of various books to bring it roughly to their eye level. I had to send Jason a few irritated text messages before he accepted Will's friend request, but we soon got him up on the screen. While Will and Jason desperately tried to fix the sound settings so they could actually _hear_ each other, I chatted to Perce and Annie.

"Hey, Perce, how are you?" I asked. "Annie, you?"

"Good," he chuckled. "We'll have enough spare food to last us _years_."

"Ha ha, Perce, very funny. Yeah, we're good. You?"

"Decent," I replied. "We're trying to get Jason up on Will's laptop right now. Somethings fucked in the sound settings and they're tryna fix it right now."

Eventually, we got the sound right. "Hey, guys," Jason yawned.

I smiled and raised a hand to him. "Hey," I chuckled along with everyone else. We were sat around in a circle and the laptops were opposite each other, which was a weird set-up, but, whatever.

Then, he suddenly began distracted, looking over Will's shoulder at the window. Suddenly, realisation dawned on me. _The window_. His eyes widened in fear and he pointed over Will's shoulder. "What the bloody fucking Hades below?!" We all leant towards him a little. "The window!" he shrieked.

Solace and I had to actually turn around to see the window, but Cecile and Lou screamed as soon as they looked to where Jason was pointing. I was too shaken up to ask Jason what happened, or what he saw. "It's that _creep_ ," Will hissed.

"I'll kill him," I growled angrily.

Jason looked at me, confused. "What?"

It. Was. Him. Hermes Castellan. "I'm alright," I murmured, despite the fact my heart was shattering. "Just… give me a moment."

I knew who it was. How had he not been arrested yet? A few tears fell down my cheeks and soon I was sobbing, my entire frame shaking. "Oh, Angel," I heard someone murmuring.

I looked up and my heart swelled when I saw Will. "Su… Sunshine?" I murmured.

He sat down beside me. "I'm right here, Angel," he whispered.

I couldn't contain it anyway. I fell into Will's lap, crying and crying. He gently lifted me up and sat me in his lap. "Oh, Angel, you're going to be alright. I'll be with you every step of this battle, I promise."

"Why? I'm such a… problem," I coughed out. "It would be so much easier to… leave me, I guess." ' _Well worded, Nico,'_ I thought.

He reached out and tucked some of my hair behind my ear. "We'll talk this over tomorrow, yeah?"

I was scared to hear what he had to say tomorrow, but I nodded and wiped the tears from my cheeks. He gently helped me up and took me back into his room. We messed around, playing truth or dare and telling daft stories from when we were little. My personal favourite was one about when Bianca was knocked into the canal in Venice by a _cow_. Mama fell in trying to reach her, then I jumped in as a joke and Bianca pulled Dad in by the feet. We turned on The Incredibles and they began to eat all the sweets, while I concealed every packet I was given under the duvet on my mattress.

I can't remember when I fell asleep. I just remember Will catching me in his arms and picking me up. Then, something horrid invaded my dreams. It was Mama's dead body in the plane I had snuck into when I was only eight. Then, she stood up and whispered, "Nico." I tried to reach her, but, then, all the other occupants ran to her and beat her down, while the cops beat me and told me I was a failure.

"…eeks, wake up."

I shifted, registering the tears falling down my face, my shaking limbs, and Will's hand gently resting in my hair. "Angel, it's alright, I'm here for you. Just wake up and you'll be outta there!"

I gently shook my head, shaking away the visions of my Mama, Bianca, the voices yelling that I was a failure. I felt the voices suddenly get louder, and I muttered "No…" and choked on my tears. He twirled my hair around his long, tanned fingers, and it was suddenly impossible to stay upset with the comfort of my friend enveloping me, making me feel safe. However, when I felt him move away from me, I reached out and grabbed his wrist. "Stay with me. Please."

I instantly curled around his body for protection when he edged back onto my mattress. I heard an almost inaudible gasp come from his mouth as his arms landed around my waist. I knew he had realised that I was still starving myself, just on-and-off this time. He accidentally found the food I hadn't eaten. He didn't seem angry or shocked, putting it up on his bed and pulling the covers up to my neck. "I'm going to help you, Nico. I promise."

I nodded, unsure of what to say to him. I muttered a few thanks, but I was _not_ ready for his next question. "How long have you been doing this to yourself?

It took me a few seconds to remember, but I said, "For almost ten weeks when I was twelve, then on and off since the…"

I just _couldn't_ bring myself to say 'stalker'. Will seemed to understand. "Hey, hey. I'm not ashamed of you, Angel, and I never will be. You're a strong person, but you've been put down. You're a miracle for surving all of this, you know that, right?"

I was awfully embarrassed, yet touched at the same time. "You're not too bad yourself, Solace," I replied.

He laughed quietly and took two sour fizzy sweets from the packet. I held out a hand, a little shy. "Erm, can I try?"

"You _did_ say on-and-off, didn't you?" he muttered.

I nodded, beginning to explain. "Yeah, I was really happy toady, so it kinda took my mind off… it, y'know?" I murmured, losing my train of thought.

"I get it," he smiled, giving me a sweet. Knowing how sour they could be, I was kinda hesitant to put it in my mouth, but, when I did, my tongue fizzed and tingled. My face was probably hilarious.

We passed around all my spare sweet packets between the four of us, telling stories until Lee yelled from across the hall, "Shut the fucking hell up and go to fucking sleep!"

"Love you too, Lee!" Will laughed.

I instantly begged to share the bed with Will, as I was horribly terrified of the stalker and afraid of the nightmares to come and get me again. Will was somewhat hesitant, but Lou and I eventually convinced him, as Cecile was already conked out on the couch underneath a blanket. When I clambered under his duvet, he took my hand. When I thought he was asleep, I pulled him closer and wrapped my body around him for comfort. He laughed and kissed my neck, just pressing his soft lips against mine. I turned bright red, but he just laughed a little and pulled my body closer to his.

I crawled back to my bed at around five, and we woke up around nine. Cecile woke up, shouting "FOOD!" and generally scaring the living fuck out of all of us. Then, Austin scared the shit out of all of us by looking around the door and going, " _Food_?" in possibly the funniest voice known to man.

Lou threw a bag of marshmallows into his face "Chubby Bunny?" he asked.

Austin set up a camera by the table in their garden and we all sat down. Left to right as you looked at us, it would be Lou, Cecile, Austin, Will, then, finally, me.

Lee started the video and Austin blabbered an introduction. "Wassup, YouTube? Austin Online here, and today we're going to be doing the Chubby Bunny Challenge! I'm here with…" I knew he'd expect me to introduce himself. Considering I had done a few videos with Reyna, I already had a decent introduction, but, because I was so nervous, I accidentally blurted the start out in Italian.

"Hey-ya, I'm Solace Shine!"

"Sup, everyone? Ceclery Styx here!"

"Greetin's world, I'm Mist Girl!"

" _Ciao, ragazzi, ragazze, e tutto il resto_! Death Boy here!" Oh, by the way, what it translates to is: 'Hello guys, girls, and everything in between!'

Will rolled his eyes and I stuck my tongue out at him. Austin gave us a 'seriously?' look and we both shut up. He grinned nastily and I got an uneasy feeling. "So, once these two immature morons have finished flirt-fighting, we'll get on with the challenge!"

"Hey!" Solace and I moaned, but he said nothing else.

" _Cazzo tu, Stronza_ ," I muttered, irritated.

Solace snorted and I realised that he understood it.

"My 'editor' – aka Will here – is going to edit a counter at the bottom of the screen for each person."

"If you're nice to me," he replied, jokily folding his arms.

We all laughed at him and Austin turned back to the camera. "Okay, Nico, you first."

Irritated, I took the bag. "I don't eat too much, so don't be surprised if I throw up," I told them, before shoving one in my mouth. I already felt my anorexia telling me I shouldn't be eating that, as everything I ate brought me further away from the dead therefore my Mama. "Chubby Bunny," I mumbled, ignoring the voice in the back of my head.

They all snatched it from my hands and gave it to Lou. Apparently her mouth was _tiny_ , because one in her mouth looked like twelve in Austin's. "Chubby Bunny," she mumbled, finding it hard to get her words around the marshmallow.

When I got to my ninth marshmallow, my stomach flipped and I gagged, making one marshmallow touch my uvula. I jumped up and sprinted to the bin. I expected just to spit out all the marshmallows, but I threw up everything I'd eaten the day before. Austin told the camera to "Hold up!" in a cheery voice and then Cecile ran behind the camera and paused it.

Will handed me some water and I took a huge gulp, before spitting it out into the sink, laced with thick, sicky saliva. I took little sips after that. "I don't need meds, don't worry. I'm just not used to having that much in my mouth," I said, leaving out the part about my anorexia.

"What happened, then?" Lou Ellen asked me.

I put down the cup on the side and took the barley sugar from Will's fingers. "I'm fine, honestly. I put too many in my mouth and one touched the back of my throat, so I threw up."

Lou nodded, satisfied, and walked back outside with Austin and Cecile, who was blatantly _not listening_. Will filled a water bottle for me and Austin turned the camera on, saying we could edit out whatever we didn't want. "So, we're back, and Nico's fine, right?"

I nodded, sucking on my barley sugar. "Yup, I'm cool."

"What _did_ happen?" Cecile asked, and I sighed.

"So, a marshmallow touched the back of my throat, my body thought I was choking and inflicted the natural reaction: throwing up. Nothing major."

Austin won, with _twelve_ , for fucks sake! "I win!" he yelled after spitting the sugary mouthful into the bin.

" _Vaffanculo_!" I shouted, covering my mouth, as I had just told Austin to go fuck himself in Italian.

We finished the video and Austin took the video to watch it through so he could add markers where Will needed to edit the video.

When Cecile and Lou Ellen left, Will got a phone call, from someone I assumed was Rachel or Calypso. I went to play pool with his siblings while he took the call. I thought I was decent at pool, but, apparently, they could enter in the Olympics for the fucking game! Twice, I accidentally slammed the end of the stick as it rested across the pool table, making the stick whack me between the eyeballs, as I had wanted to hit the edge of the pool table but missed by a few inches.

Will walked in looking cheery, but as if it was sort of forced. I wondered what Rachel/Calypso had said to him, but I was too concentrated on trying to pot at least _one_ ball against Lee, who was effortlessly crushing me.

I sank to my knees on his bedroom carpet. "Hey, hey, are you alright, Angel," he asked in low tones.

He held out his arms, his tanned fingers steady as he waited for me to come to him in my own time. I slowly shook my head and edged across the floor, sliding into his lap. His strong arms wrapping tight around me, instantly making me feel safe and protected. Horrible ideas of what the stalker could do to me filled my head, and began to sob. "He… he could hurt me… and Haze, Bi, and Rey… the stalker… he could do much, much worse…" I was shrieking and yelping, gasping between my sobs and I grabbed fistfuls of the material of his hoodie, twisting it and yanking at it with blind anger and terror.

He rocked me gently and stroked my back. "Hey, Angel, it's gonna be alright," he whispered into my ear, tracing hearts and 'it's okay' onto the back of my hand with his light fingers. "If something happens, I'll be there for you, Neeks. I promise."

I leant into his warmth and he gently circled his arms around my slim waist. I was still tense all over, unable to relax with the horrible, burning question hammering around inside my head, making the front of my head pound painfully. I sobbed with raw anguish into my best friend's shirt. He gently ran his hands through my silky hair and murmured in my ear for me to take my time talking to him.

"Why do you put up with me, Sunshine?" I asked in a terrified raspy voice, still crying. "I've got depression, anxiety, suicidal tendencies, and anorexia! Not to mention that I'm creepy, I look like a _goth_ , and I'm the weirdest person _ever_!"

Will rocked me gently, whispering "Shhh, Angel, shhh," before saying something that made my heart swell and I it made me the happiest I'd ever been. "You've had a hard life, Angel. You're a strong, beautiful person. Your doctors called you a sociopath because you were just a little bit more different than they were used to. You have serve emotional break-downs every week, yet you're still going strong. You're managing to beat an eating disorder and you're on the road to recovery. You're interesting, unique, fascinating person with an amazing personality. I've fallen for you hard, Angel. All of that and more is the reason why I stick around."

Will. Liked. Me. Back. My eyes filled with shock, pleasure and raw happiness. I rested my forehead against his and began to talk. " _Ti amo_ , Sunshine."

He smiled the most beautiful, genuine smile I had ever seen. I reached up to his sharp jawline and rested my fingers there, a most innocent gesture nowadays. "Sunshine," I began, slowly. "I've never had a relationship with, well… _anyone_ before, so… could we take it slow, perhaps?"

He nodded kindly and pulled me closer to me. He shifted his position to laying down on the homely, tattered couch. I mirrored his every move, so I was lying opposite him, my back to the door. We had our arms drawn tight around each other, with our legs twined together and I buried my face into his chest, a common practice for me. He threaded his fingers into my hair and gave it a gentle tug. "You alright, Angel?" he asked quietly.

"Yeah," I replied.

"Good. I don't want you to ever get hurt."

I turned my face towards him, and was shocked to see him crying. "Will you're _crying_!"

He tried to stop his tears, but they flooded down his cheeks. I wiped away his tears with my thumbs. "Oh, Sunshine, don't worry. I promise that I'll protect you."

We locked eyes once more and I finally brought myself to ask a looking question. "Will… Can I kiss you?"

"Yes…" he mumbled.

He leant forwards, but hesitated, and I assumed he thought it was wrong, as I was getting that sudden pull-back as well, but I blocked it out. "Oh, Sunshine," I mumbled, before kissing him. Our kiss was pure and simple, but perfect in every way. " _Ti amo_ ," I whispered.

" _Ti amo_ ," he replied, and my heart fluttered again.

When we finally broke up the kiss, we were both smiling. I buried my face in his chest, utterly embarrassed. He traced 'I love you' and 'It's alright' onto my hand.

We broke away from each other's arms, finally. "Thanks, you're a great help," I smiled at him.

"No problem," he replied, helping me to sit up. "I always want to help you. I always will."

I blushed, awfully embarrassed, so I buried my face into his chest and whispered, " _Ti amo_ ," over and over into the material.

He ruffled my hair and kissed my forehead lightly. "Shall we watch that 'Show 'em What You're Made Of' thing?" he asked.

"Yeah!" I exclaimed, jumping in my seat with excitement.

He turned on the TV. "Hang on, I'm gonna go get us some candy and stuff."

I knew I would only eat very little, but it was sweet of him. When he came back in, he had the look of fear on his face that only Kayla could inflict on him. "Sunn-y!" she moaned, pounding on the door. "I wanna watch to-o!"

"Gods, she's _so_ babyish when she wants to be!" Will muttered to me, making me laugh.

He hugged me from behind (I was on his lap) and I nuzzled my head under his chin.

Austin began to talk, saying, "Kayla, we're not going to get our way if we…"

I think Kayla slapped him across the face or forcefully covered his mouth, because he coughed harshly. "Can. We. Come. In?" Kayla asked us slowly.

I gently slid from his lap and Will called for Kayla to come in. They exploded in and Austin sat beside me. "So, what's this show, then?" Kayla asked.

I instantly explained to them, lighting up. Kayla was laughing and Austin was smiling a little. I kissed Will happily on the cheek and he blushed, smiling at me. I took a deep breath, and I got a feeling that my life was going to be okay.


	21. Gone Too Far - Will

**I have one thing to say.**

 **I am so sorry.**

 **Oh, and should I change the rating to M? Let me know what you think when you read the next chapter.**

 **Enjoy, I guess?**

Thank _goodness_ Nico hadn't text me to ask if the investigation was being carried out. I could just about live with not telling him the whole truth (that they thought it was a prank call and weren't pursuing it any further), but, if he asked me, I couldn't lie straight to his face.

It's not helpful that I freaked out every time I saw a black van or a man in a suit. All. Weekend. Eventually, Monday rolled around and we were finally back in school. Word got out about Luke's run-in with the law through some of Octavian's friends, and there were _all_ sorts of strange conspiracies about who wanted revenge on the 'only living Castellan'. Trying to seem innocent and curious, I asked what Hermes' new name was, but neither Octavian or even _Luke_ knew, which utterly _sucked_. It was somewhat easier around Nico how we were together, but harder in another way, as I knew I was keeping something from him.

I had history with Nico that day, where we watched everyone present their posters. We didn't get 'round to our video, which was… ahem… _irritating_. Before I left at the end of the day, I kissed my new boyfriend goodbye. He blushed brilliantly and giggled sweetly. I got _him_ self and myself _exceedingly_ happy, which crashed and burned when I saw how awfully _un_ happy my family was.

"Guys, what's up?" I asked, concerned, but still moderately cheery.

Austin held out his phone, his face pinched and draw with worry. "Down, more like," he muttered, referring to the depressed mood of the household. "Look."

When I read the message, the ground seemed to sway under my feet and it blurred in front of my eyes. I knew, recognised, and _hated_ that number. 'I'm planning something big' it read.

"Shit," I muttered. "This is getting out of hand."

I knew Austin must've been _thoroughly_ shaken up, as he didn't immediately tell me to stop swearing, which he did even in the worst situations. "It _got_ out of hand a long time ago," Lee spat, taking the phone and gently laying it down on the counter.

"Call the police," Michael asked.

I shook my head. "Already done."

Victoria hugged me hard. "Will, promise me that you won't let _anything_ happen to me."

"I promise, but only if you promise too," I whispered.

We all agreed to help the others in the room, swearing on our lives and the River Styx to stick beside each other, whatever happened.

I wish I hadn't been up studying.

 **DeathAngel: Solace... help**

 **SolaceShine: Nico, are you alright?**

 **DeathAngel: I can hear footsteps on the gravel outside.**

 **SolaceShine: Relax, it's probably your neighbours!**

 **DeathAngel: Solace, our neighbours don't HAVE gravel.**

 **SolaceShine: Nico, it's alright**

 **DeathAngel: OMFG!**

 **DeathAngel: Hazel's in the bathroom. She said that see can see someone in the window.**

 **SolaceShine: Nico?**

 **DeathAngel: The guy's digging in the garden. I think it's Hermes**

 **SolaceShine: Ok... Nico, I don't think it is.**

 **DeathAngel: He dug up my time capsule.**

 **SolaceShine: OK what**

 **DeathAngel: Bianca can hear whistling. From downstairs. It sounds like a car exhaust**

 **SolaceShine: House layout. Now.**

 **DeathAngel: The bathroom is above the entrance way Hazel's is above the first door on the left, Bianca's the second, Reyna's the third, mine the back, Dad and step-Mum in the attic.**

 **SolaceShine: Can you see anything out your window?**

 **DeathAngel: No. My window's out the side of the house. Hazel's and the bathroom are the only two facing the front of the house.**

 **SolaceShine: Who's awake?**

 **DeathAngel: Hazel and Rey definitely.**

 **SolaceShine: Parents and Bi?**

 **DeathAngel: Asleep and I'm nearly at her room**

 **DeathAngel: Will.**

 **SolaceShine: What?**

 **DeathAngel: SHES NOT HERE**

 **SolaceShine: Nico.**

 **SolaceShine: NICO, are you there?**

 **SolaceShine: Nico, where are you?**

 **DeathAngel: Will, this is Hazel. Nico's gone. I found his phone outside the room, thrown out the door.**

"No, no, no, no, _NO_!" I shouted. My boyfriend had just been kidnapped, but the police thought we were joking and we had no clear evidence. I felt like everything I had control of had just crashed and burned around my ears.

 **SolaceShine: No…**

 **DeathAngel: I think he threw it for us.**

 **SolaceShine: What you going to do?**

 **DeathAngel: Idk. We're scared to wake up our parents. I'm terrified. Help!**

I dropped my phone and screamed in fear. Kayla dashed in. "Will! Are you okay?"

I poured out the entire story and Kayla turned sheet white, dropping to the ground. "Kayla!" I yelled, crouching down beside her.

Austin ran in. "What happened?" he gasped.

"Fainted."

When she woke up, Austin rushed her into Dad's room, despite my protests, and she sobbed out the whole story to them. Bloody _brilliant_.

 **SolaceShine: Crap. I screamed Kayla woke up and asked what was wrong. I told her but she just told my mum now the whole house is awake. Fuck**

 **GoldDigger: We just called the police. They still think that the call was a prank and they have no one that has the name Hermes Castellan, or had it in the past.**

 **SolaceShine: I'll come and see you tomorrow, okay?**

 **GoldDigger: Please do.**

I threw myself onto my bed and sobbed myself to sleep.

oOo

In the morning, I threw on a grey sweater, some newly washed jeans, my oldest, most comfortable sneakers, and headed to the bus stop. In case you're wondering, our car is broken. No, it is totally _not_ to do with Kayla having a sudden moment of madness and shoving a yogurt-filled golfing cap into the engine. No, not at all.

When I got to their house, Reyna and Rachel were sat outside, Reyna sobbing and Rachel hugging and whispering to her to try and calm her down. Hazel was hurriedly talking to Frank in the living room. "We know who it is! But there's no records of anyone with that name, nor records of anyone having it previously! We have no concrete evidence!"

"Hazel?" I asked rhetorically.

She gasped. "Oh, Will!"

"Hazel, we'll find him. The police might not believe us, but we have what we need: friends and evidence. We _know_ it's him. _I_ know it's him. I knew right from when I first saw it."

"What do we do?" she asked, helpless.

"We _tell people_. We go around the houses in Hermes' area and tell people about it. We ask them if they've seen Nico. We ask if they know who took him. Hermes'll find out and let something slip."

"He lives near you, right?" Hazel asked.

I nodded. Hazel stood up and yelled, "Dad, I need some money for a bus fare!"

Hazel told me she knew what to do. She hadn't cleaned her face, so it was bright red and tear stained, her eyes were filling up with tears, and her dress was rumpled all over, her hair loose and messy. She took my hand and yanked me up the drive of the first nice-looking house. I assumed she had made the decision of the house to visit by the fact there were a lot of play-items (swings, trampolines, scooters, bikes, flower-pot stilts, pogo sticks, and hula hoops) and children clearly lived there.

A little girl with very dark brown hair tied back in bunches opened the door. "Hello, Miss, Mister," she giggled.

"Why aren't you at school?" I asked sweetly, not wanting to drop a bomb just yet.

"We have a te'her trainin' day!" she laughed, before noticing Hazel. "Miss, are you okay?"

Hazel nodded, wiping her eyes. "Do you have an adult home we can talk to, sweetheart?"

She nodded happily. "Ma! Ma! There's someone at the door for you!" she shouted, running down the hall.

"Hello!" the woman chirped. "Are you two alright?"

It was such a relief to see such an _ordinary_ family, with a polite little girl, toys in the garden, and a mother who seemed kind and friendly. "We've come to ask you something. Erm, my…" I cast a sideways glance towards Hazel, worried. "Boyfriend was taken from his home only last night. We have no evidence, just mere speculation, so we were wondering if you knew anything."

Hazel's face was priceless, pure gold, but I couldn't laugh. The woman's mouth was a round 'o' of shock. "Oh, _goodness_! Maria, Maria, come here!"

Another woman ran to the door, presumably Maria. "What is it, darling?"

Hazel was stuttering and crying now. "My… my brother was kidnapped and… and we were… wondering if you… knew anything… about… him…"

"I'm ever so sorry, but we haven't heard anything. We'll let you know if anything happens, okay? Where could we let you know?"

"Not the police, for sure, so… 7 Archery Lane or 11 Unclaimed Rd, if you can't go there," I explained. Hazel looked confused, so I mouthed 'Luke's house' to her, and she had to hide a smirk.

oOo

The next house looked like an old-people house, so we thought 'how bad can it be?' A girl I recognised from Kayla's grade opened the door. All I know about her is that her name is Lillian Raker (nicknamed Watson), she loves Sherlock, she's a writer, and she's English, speaking like someone from the 1940s, just with more slang and more swearing. "Hallo, Will, Hazel! Why aren't you at school?" then she noticed Hazel's tears. "Oh, are you okay?"

Hazel nodded, but then she burst into tears, but, this time, I couldn't stop her. She collapsed to her knees and cried and yelled. Neighbours were looking out of windows and opening doors, so Lillian quickly ran inside and begged her grandparents to let us in to talk. The woman with curly-white hair was mildly reluctant to agree, presumably for Lillian's own safety. The man, however, was large and jolly, inviting us in instantly. Lillian ushered us into the kitchen and poured out some lemonade. She used it to swallow down a pill before talking to us.

Hazel gulped down some tears. "I'm alright, Lillian. Don't worry about me."

"I only wanted to take you in because you were crying, Hazel. Please, tell me what's wrong," she begged.

"One question," I asked, stalling so Hazel could dry her eyes and calm down. "Why aren't you at school?"

She sighed, coughing painfully. "Ouch, that hurt," she announced, before swallowing thickly. "I had to have my adenoids taken out when I was ten but the op. kept getting put back and eventually my adenoids got infected, so they had to operate out my adenoids three weeks ago. Usually, you have to take two weeks off school for your adenoids, but, because of the infection, I have to take off five. I've already been off three."

"Oh, alright," Hazel and I replied simultaneously.

Suddenly, she blurted out, "I've heard loads of mixed reports and rumours from school about Luke Castellan getting arrested, Kayla getting killed, Austin Lake getting kidnapped, and the like. Please tell me what's going on."

I took a breath. "Right, do you promise not to text anyone this story, or tell anyone when you get back to school?"

"Of course," she promised, her eyes wide and curious. "I probably won't be back until it gets sorted out anyway."

That gave me more hope than it should've, but I never wanted to dispel the feeling of power I got when she told me this. "Right, it started around two weeks ago…"

When I was done, Lillian was staring at me, terrified. "Dear Zeus above and Hades below. I won't tell _anyone_. I swear on my life."

"Thank you," Hazel rasped. "Will, shall we go?"

I nodded. "Let's go. Lillian, can you not talk to your grandparents, parents, extended family, and… little brother, isn't it?"

She nodded. "Yeah, Luca."

"Okay, don't tell them _anything_ ," Hazel told her.

Lillian nodded seriously. "Of course."

"Let's go," Hazel announced, and we left the house, happier than when we had gone in.

After a few more houses, we took the bus back and sat in their lounge, telling Rachel, Reyna, and Frank about what had happened.

oOo

"Look, you're coming back to ours tonight," Luke ordered. "I'm sorry, but you have to take a break. You're working yourself to death."

"I could _not_ agree more," Octavian piped up. "Will, you're going to kill yourself with your searching. Even _Hazel_ and _Reyna_ aren't working as hard as you. One night won't hurt, Solace. We'll find him soon."

Soon, as it turned out, was sooner than we thought. Of course, back _then_ , I couldn't see it. "Fine," I grumbled.

Octavian and Luke grinned and hi-fived. "Yes!" Octavian clapped a hand on my shoulder. "We'll find your _Angel_ soon."

"One question: Why your house?" I asked.

Luke shrugged. "Dad's being _super_ protective these days. I can't pinpoint it, but… Never mind. I just can't go over to anyone else's house right now."

"Sure, why not?" I shrugged, knowing full-well it was a bad idea, but, hell, he might let something slip.

oOo

Apparently, getting two seconds alone is a real problem in the Castellan household. First of all, we sat in the kitchen, but Hermes (that's Luke's dad, by the way) was _constantly_ checking up on us and asking if we needed anything. After a while, we moved into Luke's room, but _that_ wasn't much better because Hermes kept popping in to change Luke's bedsheets, get dirty washing, and other things that could've been done later. Eventually, we resorted to going out into his front yard, sitting on the bench and leaning against the van.

I sighed dramatically. "Does your house have _anywhere_ private?"

Luke tugged at his hair fretfully. "The garage roof 'll collapse with all three of us on it. We can't get _into_ the garage and anywhere in the house isn't exactly _private_."

"Why?" I asked, confused.

Luke sighed. "Dad's been keeping closer tabs on me than usual since the kidnapping. He gets _really_ edgy when we talk about it, too."

Octavian groaned, edging closer to his boyfriend along the bench. "Why?"

In a moment of sudden anger, Luke slammed his fists into the bench. "Pleases stop saying 'why'!" he shouted. "Okay, freak-out over. I don't know, to be honest. Bad childhood experiences or something, I assumed."

"Hey, don't you have a basement?" I realised.

"Yeah," Octavian answered for him. "We snuck down there, once."

Luke cast him a 'really?' look. "Yeah, we did."

I smirked, glad to think about something other than the kidnapping. "Oh yeah? To do what?" I teased. "Have sex?"

"Oh, be quiet!" Octavian stuttered, turning to whisper to Luke. "More like make out."

I chuckled. "I heard that."

They both blushed furiously again. In an attempt to salvage the conversation, Luke spoke up. "Dad usually keeps the keys on the hook, but he's kept them on him since… well, around the time you met Nico, let's say."

We were stunned into silence at the mere mention of his name. I missed him so much that his name was as precious as gold to me. Luke stood up awkwardly. "We… we have a spare key to the basement. I stole it when I was ten and my dad has no idea where it is. He's been looking all over for it."

It took us two hours to get a clear window to go into the basement. We unlocked the door and Luke reached for the light switch. "Ew, it smells gross in here," Octavian muttered as Luke reached for the light switch. A voice rang out from the other side of the basement and we all jumped, our feet creaking on the steps. "N… no…" the voice whimpered, their voice cracking. "No more."

I saw all the colour drain from Luke and Octavian's faces. I was shocked beyond comprehension. "Nico?" I exclaimed in utter disbelief.

Octavian hissed urgently, "Hermes." Luke locked the door and pocketed the key, then, he yelled loudly, "FOUND YOU!"

I pretended to jump. "Dam you, I thought I had it with this spot," I grumbled, accepting Octavian's hand up, knowing to pretend we're playing hide and seek.

I had a sneaking suspicion my phone was being tracked, which would prove to be correct later on, so I knew that if I pretended to receive a message Hermes wouldn't fall for it. Instead, I looked at my watch. "Shit," I muttered. "Austin told me to be home by seven. See you."

"See ya," they said simultaneously.


	22. Gone Too Far - Nico

**Suwadika, guys, girls, and everything in between! Thanks for continuing to read my story! (Sorry for the long authors' note and chapter content in advance)**

 **I'm sorry to say that this chapter has a pretty hefty warning on it, so, here goes…**

 **WARNING:** **Violence, torture and abuse. Mentions of rape and other.**

… **Yeah, I'm so sorry. Feel free to skim-read this chapter if you're squeamish on any level. In fact, I encourage it. Also, disclaimer, I wrote this when I was in a really depressed, angry, and pissed-off mood.**

 **So, Stay Strong and… Enjoy, I guess?**

 **-RainbowLilzz**

Why did I have to try and be the brave little brother?

So, I guess I should explain. I heard someone walking around outside on the gravel. As I said, my window's at this side of the house, so I couldn't see. As a form of roll call, Bianca started singing 'Soldatino' and everyone joined in. Just to be sure it wasn't one of Will's family, I yelled "Drop the bass!" Nothing fell to the floor. Crap.

I picked up my phone and texted my boyfriend in a panic.

 **DeathAngel: Solace... help**

 **SolaceShine: Nico, are you alright?**

 **DeathAngel: I can hear footsteps on the gravel outside.**

 **SolaceShine: Relax, it's probably your neighbours!**

 **DeathAngel: Solace, our neighbours don't HAVE gravel.**

 **SolaceShine: Nico, it's alright**

Hazel threw open my door, making me jump. "I was in the bathroom. I saw a man in the garden, but I couldn't be sure. The window's blurry, you see."

I nodded, scared. Uncharacteristically so. "Yes, yes I do."

"I'm going to look in my room, 'kay?"

 **DeathAngel: OMFG!**

 **DeathAngel: Hazel's in the bathroom. She said that see can see someone in the window.**

 **SolaceShine: Nico?**

 **DeathAngel: The guy's digging in the garden. I think it's Hermes**

 **SolaceShine: Ok... Nico, I don't think it is.**

 **DeathAngel: He dug up my time capsule.**

 **SolaceShine: OK what**

 **DeathAngel: Bianca can hear whistling. From downstairs. It sounds like a car exhaust**

 **SolaceShine: House layout. Now.**

 **DeathAngel: The bathroom is above the entrance way Hazel's is above the first door on the left, Bianca's the second, Reyna's the third, mine the back, Dad and step-Mum in the attic.**

 **SolaceShine: Can you see anything out your window?**

 **DeathAngel: No. My window's out the side of the house. Hazel's and the bathroom are the only two facing the front of the house.**

Hazel was the only one who could see out the window. Bianca was sobbing in her room, and Reyna was sitting stock-still in her room with all the lights on and the curtains shut. And I was texting Will. Someone had to know.

 **SolaceShine: Who's awake?**

 **DeathAngel: Hazel and Rey definitely.**

 **SolaceShine: Parents and Bi?**

 **DeathAngel: Asleep and I'm nearly at her room**

I opened the door and looked for my sister. She wasn't there. I kicked the covers and screamed her name to no avail. My sister was gone. I ripped out my phone. Someone had to know.

 **DeathAngel: Will.**

 **SolaceShine: What?**

 **DeathAngel: SHES NOT HERE**

I felt a hand on my shoulder and I tried to scream. A damp cloth covered my mouth, coated in what I now know was chloroform. Black spots obscured my vision and I felt myself being scooped up into someone's arms.

oOo

When my eyes opened, it was dark. I heard some quiet sobs to my right. "Bianca?" I whispered.

"Nico?" she gasped.

"Where are we?" I mumbled.

"Basement of some sort," she replied.

"We've got to get out!" I urged her, twisting my arms in the cuffs clamped around them. I ripped all the skin off of my wrists while scraping them around the cold metal. It stung horribly and I bit back my sobs.

"No use, Nico, I've tried."

I heard footsteps hammering above me and a playful shriek of, "Octavian! Give it back!"

We were in Luke's house. We were in Hermes' basement. "LUKE!" I screamed.

"OCTAVIAN!" Bianca yelled.

"They can't help you, you know."

We both jumped and I wailed at the top of my lungs as a knife was scraped down my upper arm on the left. It burned and I screwed up my eyes to stop my tears. I felt something strike me across the face again and again. I screamed with every ounce of my being. "Not so good now, eh, boy?"

I screamed as loud as I could. "No one can hear you. They'll never hear you." The knife scraped deep into my skin twice more, then thrice on the other arm. I bit my lip so hard it bled, to distract myself from the pain.

After hours and hours of blood, screaming, and insults, the man ran out of the basement. As he flung the door open, Bianca and I screamed at the top of our lungs, hoping someone, somehow, would hear me.

No one did.

oOo

I was woken by the door opening. Hermes crept towards us and unlocked me from my chains. He threw me to the ground and I was too weak to do anything else. He ripped off my pyjama shirt and began whipping me with a belt. I wailed and screamed at the top of my lungs as the belt cracked against my back again and again. I heard Bianca scream and I covered my ears. I didn't want to know what she was going through.

My eyes were becoming accustomed to the dark at last and I turned to Bianca, who was huddled in her nightdress, sobbing. I jerked away, fearing he had done the worst to her. I took a huge breath and I began to scream. My entire body ached and ached after I had screamed for hours on end. I took a breath and fell asleep against the wall once more.

oOo

I heard the door opening and stayed silent. I saw the silhouettes of three people. The shadows cast on the wall were of one figure that looked average, giving no clues, the second with sticky-up hair, and rather short, and the last tall with curly hair. "Nico?" the voice whispered, quietly emanating across the basement.

Then, they scrambled out of the basement and I sighed. Maybe, at last, I was safe.


	23. Hospital - Will

**I'm sorry for the long Author's Note, but I have a few things to say.**

 **Also, I'm British, so I don't know much about the whole 'healthcare costing money' thing. Just roll with it, okay?**

 **I have a confession to make. I was going to drop a massive plot twist and have Hazel and Will fall in love over looking for Nico, but I don't fancy having many angry reviewers holding knives to my throat, so I have** _ **passed**_ **on that one. Be glad.**

 **Next, sorry Lacey's speech impediment is so prominent, but my friend gave me a challenge to include a character with one. I think you can get the general gist of her speech, but, if you don't, just leave a comment and I'll update the chapter with a 'translator', I guess. Sorry if this insults anyone, it was** _ **not**_ **intended, of course.**

 **Last, but not least, I don't have anything against nurses and doctors, so I don't think they're as crappy as I make them out to be, but my recent experiences (in the past school year) have left me just a little bit** _ **bitter**_ **.**

 **Enjoy!**

I sprinted the three blocks to my house. I ran inside, slamming the door while desperately wracking my brains. Austin's phone was hacked, my phone was hacked, Kayla's phone was hacked, he probably had Lee's, Michael's, and everyone else's too. Then, I heard Kayla and Meg exclaiming about Meg's 'awesome' new phone, cooing over it like the girls they were. I marched over to her. "Meg, can I borrow your phone?"

Her hand hovered over it protectively. "Why?"

"I need to make an important call, but my phone's being hacked/tracked."

Kayla sat forward, suddenly understanding that I wasn't joking. "Meg, give him your phone. Now."

I tapped in the three numbers. "911, what's your emergency?"

"I'm reporting a kidnapping…" I reeled off all the evidence and what I had seen. Gradually, my siblings congregated in the kitchen, staring at me. And they _believed_ me. I was overjoyed and happy that they were going to save my boyfriend. Eventually, the call cut off and I handed Meg's phone back, running out the door, leaving my siblings gawking behind me.

I ran the entire way to Luke's house, waiting a few houses away until I heard a siren wailing. I waved my arms wildly when I saw the police car and it pulled over. I told them the house number and they escorted me over to the house. Unexpectedly, the person to answer the door was an out-of-breath Octavian. "Oh!" he gasped when he saw me, my face drawn with worry, being flanked by policemen. "You did it!" he exclaimed finally, throwing his arms around me suddenly. "You actually did it."

I stood stiff with pure, simple shock, with my friend's arms around me. "He hurt me too, you know?" Octavian whispered in my ear. "I had to swear on my life not to tell Luke."

He released me and I gave the first officer an uncertain look. "Young man, get me to keys to the basement of this house," he ordered.

Octavian scurried off, calling for Luke as he went. He came back soon after, his hand around Luke's wrist. Then, Hermes burst out of the living room. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" he roared. The atmosphere tensed immediately. One cuffed Hermes' hands behind his back and stood stock-still with him in the hallway while I talked to the policeman and Octavian confessed the extent of Hermes' abuse to Luke. When Luke had heard enough, he kicked his dad, hard, in the stomach. "What the actual fuck, Ocky?" he shrieked, as I turned the key in the lock.

We all slipped down the stairs to the basement and, instantly, a horrifying scream filled the basement. I quickly picked my way across the floor, flinching every time I heard a crack. I managed to make out a thin, pale figure, so I placed my hand on his shoulder. Nico struggled away from my touch and Octavian snapped the light on. Nico saw me and his eyes widened, and he began to cry. I reached my hand out carefully and moved his bloody locks from his eyes. "It's alright, Angel. You're safe now," I assured him.

Then, he threw himself forwards, straining against his chains, and I wasn't surprised when they didn't yield. My hands were out as quick as a flash, lifting my boyfriend back against the wall. I knelt in front of him, trying to make myself his equal. I decided that his horrible cuts needed to be closed as soon as possible, as a few more hours would have the flesh damaged beyond repair. I had to run my nails along the edges of cuts and push gashes closed to get rid of blood, infections, and other unspeakable things I _never_ want to see again. Nico whimpered quietly, but I persisted, despite how bad it made me feel. "Shh, it's okay," I whispered when I was done, at last. He fell right into my lap and I pulled him closer to my chest. I gently rubbed his back and scanned the basement with my eyes, not once letting go of the thin, shirtless figure in my arms.

Luke bolted towards us, and he looked _terrible_. He handed me a water bottle, both our hands fumbling with it. I accepted the bottle and opened it with my teeth, putting it to Nico's lips and dropping in a little water. Nico managed to drink almost half to bottle before I decided that was enough. Luke ran over again with a metal cutter in his grip. Nico yelled and pressed his back to the wall. "Don't hurt me!"

Luke knelt down, raising the tool hesitantly. "I'm gonna cut you free, okay?"

Nico wriggled, afraid we were going to hurt him, so Luke held his wrist in place and I shielded his face carefully. Finally, Nico was free. I pulled him close to me once again, checking over his cuts. When I touched one of the cuts on his upper arm, he jerked and I almost stabbed him with my finger. I pressed my lips to his cheek. "I love you."

" _Ti amo_ ," he replied, and my heart lurched.

Bianca looked at us in surprise, and her expression was _hilarious_. However, the moment was soon over when she broke down into Luke's shoulder when he cut her free. Nico turned his head sharply towards me, putting his hand on my shoulder and wincing in pain when he made the contact. "I think Hermes…" he began, shuddering as horror swept over him. "Raped her."

He burst into tears, weeping into my chest, shrieking Bianca's name over and over. I managed to calm him down by rubbing his back and kissing him on the cheek and forehead, but not before I screamed loudly and turned to Luke in blind panic. He nodded and yelled, "Someone call Thalia Grace!"

Octavian nodded in our direction to assure he had it covered, before mouthing 'SOL-AN-GE-LO!", in a chant-like way. I wrapped my arms around Nico's ice cold, bare chest. He was thin from his anorexia and weak from his eating disorder. I ran my fingers over Nico's protruding from his chest, promising myself to fix him. There were ambulance sirens in the distance and Nico tried to stand up immediately. I frowned a little, but Nico smiled back and caught me by surprise in a kiss. He slid off my lap and I tucked his hair behind his ear. "I'm gonna go call Hazel, and tell her you're alright," I told him.

He nodded weakly. "Thanks so much," he whispered, before adding on, "Can you tell her I love her?"

"Of course," I smiled, kissing his cheek one last time.

I turned around and tripped and fumbled and skidded the entire way out of the basement. Octavian and even _Bianca_ and _Luke_ laughed loudly, and _those_ two were mentally scarred for life. I turned and half-heartedly glared at them. "It's not fucking funny!" I called out, falling on my face one final time, this time on the three steps going up to the door, before Luke closed the door behind me and I was greeted by the third responding office, who was standing guard.

He assured me my phone was safe, so I could call Hazel without fear. I moved into the kitchen, where Octavian and Luke were sat, so I wouldn't get in the way of the paramedics. I teased my phone between my hands for a little while, playing my fingers over the call button, before finally committing, sliding the green button with the call icon sideways, calling Nico's sister.

"Will?" she choked out.

"Hazel, you there?" I asked, as the signal in that house was _really_ shitty and I could barely hear her.

"I'm right here, Will," she replied, sobbing a little.

"Hazel, what are you doing right now?" I asked suddenly.

"I was going to call the police and extend the time we got off school. Why?" she asked.

"Don't," I replied instantly, hearing the ambulance crew rushing through the house, shouting medical phrases that I understood, but I wish I didn't, because they really, _really_ scared me.

Curious, she asked, " _Why?_ "

"Nico's been found," I blurted after a few seconds of silence, consisting of me moving to the back of the kitchen, my back against the glass doors, so I couldn't hear the medical jargon that I was really pissed that I understood.

I heard Hazel drop her phone onto the thick carpet, muffling the sound of her yelling, "REYNA!"

I heard steps clattering down the stairs and Hazel joyously spilling out the news to her adopted sister, her step-mom, and her dad. She picked up the phone again, and, crying with joy, asked me where we should meet up.

"The hospital," I decided. "He's badly injured."

"Oh," she deadpanned bluntly. "It was him, then?"

I nodded, before replying. "Yes. Yes, it was."

I heard her talking to Reyna, who was making death threats, that I heard even though she was barely audible. "Alright, Will, we're on our way. Meet us at the front entrance, okay?"

"Alright, Hazel. See you there," I replied, cutting the call.

The officer told us to give it fifteen minutes before we went, to wait until Nico was put in the ambulance. He was rushed into the hall with the entire crew around him. I walked up to him and squeezed his hand, smiling, although he looked faint and I was almost shitting myself with terror.

oOo

When we got to the outside of the hospital, Hazel and Reyna were already there, waiting for me. I checked my phone, seeing countless missed calls from all of my siblings, as well as hundreds of messages asking me what the fuck was going on. I held up a finger and called Kayla. She answered before the first ring had even finished, with an adamant "Talk."

"We found Nico," I replied.

She dropped her phone. "What the _fuck_ , Will? How?"

"You heard," I replied.

" _NO_ , I didn't!" she swiftly interrupted, and I heard her fist banging on the table. "I was too busy having a panic attack!"

"Oh, _Kayla_!" I exclaimed, sadness and guilt filling me up. "I'm so sorry!"

"It's okay," she sighed. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," I told her.

I heard tears of relief on the other end of the line, and I was too shocked to comfort her. I could only remember Kayla crying three times before. Once when her mum and our dad got a divorce when I was eight and she was only six (better than the divorce he got with mine, when I was only six months old and she moved to England, never to be seen again, and my dad hooked up with Kayla's mum… it's a long story), the second when she broke her arm at the age of eight, and the last when her best friend attempted suicide when she was eleven (she's been getting help since the incident, so it's not to worry).

I cut the line when I heard Michael rush over and tell her to get in the car (Lee's car). Hazel jumped up and tackled me down in a hug. "Oh, Will!"

Reyna pulled her up and I struggled to my feet. "Come on: this hospital is huge and finding their wards within the day would be nice."

Reyna rolled her eyes, but I saw the tear stains on her cheeks. I nodded my head towards the front desk. "Where's your dad?"

Reyna raised her eyebrow and I forgot for a second that she didn't actually call him 'Dad'. "Hades? Oh, he's already inside, finding Bianca's ward."

"What about Nico?" I asked.

"We've always been closer to Nico," Hazel explained. "It made sense to 'leave him' to us."

"Oh, okay," I replied flatly, not satisfied with the answer. "Let's go."

God, that receptionist's directions were _so_ shitty! She was wearing a badge that read 'Hi, my name is Jessica! I'm new, please be patient with me!', but the woman clearly meant to be helping her was telling her to, "Figure it out, Jessica! It's the only way you'll learn!"

We ended up in a children's ward for operations, and the scream of that little girl getting injected still echoes in my ears when I write about it. Hazel shyly walked up to a doctor and asked if we could get directions to where her brother's ward was. Unfortunately, he couldn't check on a computer or anything, so he asked what injuries Nico had been victim to, so he could guess what ward he had been put on. This landed us in a psychiatric ward, and we knew this was wrong before we even _got_ there. Not wanting to be surrounded by mental people, we swiftly changed direction and landed ourselves in a Chemotherapy ward. We were given vague directions by a half-asleep desk manager ("Take the first left in the hall, no maybe the fourth, then turn right twice, or was it three times?" "Sir, do you actually _know_ where it is?" "Yes, yes, of course I do, don't doubt me!" "Actually, I think we've got it." "C'mon, Will, let's _go_!") and we were soon in the Orthodontics Department, where a girl around eleven, who's voice sounded hilarious, as she had just had a expander put in, gave us finally _correct_ directions to the ward she supposed Nico would be staying on.

When we got there, Hazel was instantly permitted to enter by a nurse doing medicine rounds on the ward. I faintly heard Nico yelling, "Get out! Go away!" in his utterly traumatized state.

Hazel shrieked quietly and stumbled backwards of the door as it slammed in front of her, and only Reyna ready to catch her stopped her concussing herself on the cold, hard floor. In shock, she gagged and Reyna rushed to hold her head over the bin, where she miserably threw up into it. She turned to me in a panic. " _Please_ , Will, _please_ , go in and talk to him!"

Sort of reluctantly, I regret to say, I slipped into the room and I saw my boyfriend visibly relax. "Oh…"

I sat down beside him and held his hand, but he silently begged me to sit beside him on the bed, and I obliged.

I held him in my lap, my arms wrapped lightly around him as I admired his amazing hospital bandages. Everything was cleaned, stitched, glued, steri-stripped and wrapped up _perfectly_ – I expect nothing else from a hospital. "It's okay," I chided. "You're safe now."

Nico suddenly looked _angry_ , angrier than I had ever seen him. Pure fury and rage filled his eyes and he balled his fists tight. "We're going to lock him up. Whether it takes one year or a hundred."

I smiled, ruffled his silky hair, and surprised him with a kiss. He turned bright red, but I smiled and placed my hand on his jaw, shuddering when he threaded his fingers into my hair. When we broke apart, I told him, "I think we're going to the police station after this to give a statement."

Nico rubbed his eyes, irritated. "Uhh, Holy _Hera_! I just can't get a damn _break_!" He sipped from the plastic cup by the side of his bed.

"Yeah, and I bet on Hephaestus Hand Grenades that you'll _never_ get one!" I laughed.

"Also, don't expect me to know anything. No one's told me shit."

I had to laugh at that. "Hades right they haven't!" I snorted, tracing my patterns on the back of his hand.

He laughed, as did I, and he leant into me, sighing. Reyna walked in just as we locked lips, but all she did was roll her eyes, put down a pile of clothes at the end of the bed, then throw herself at Nico. "Don't you _ever_ do that to me again," she ordered, furious, before softening and kissing his cheek. "Oh, I'm _so_ glad you're safe."

"I won't, Reyna, I won't."

"You'd better not," she warned, pointing a threatening finger at him. "Bianca's quite alright, you know. You – unfortunately – bear the brunt of the injury."

They hugged for maybe five minutes more, but Nico downright _insists_ that it wasn't that long. "Here, can I go and see Bianca?" he asked.

I got up, and Reyna released Nico from her iron grip. "I'll ask," we replied together.

"Nico would like to go and see his sister, miss," I explained.

"Of course," the nurse replied, but Thalia Grace has only just arrived, so it might be wise to wait a little while."  
"Well, of _course_ ," Reyna replied, voice 'sugar coated', so to speak. "We're going to help him get dressed first."

"Very well," the nurse nodded. "Go ahead."

"Reyna's gonna help you get dressed. I gotta go find Bianca's ward with the gods-awful directions from that receptionist."

Nico chuckled and said something had had Reyna roaring with laughter that I could hear from down the hall.

oOo

I only found the ward with the help of an eleven-year-old girl with her family, signing forms to sue the hospital. Our conversation went like this:

I walked through a corridor of offices and saw a girl crying on a bench outside. "Hey, are you okay?" I asked.

She shook her head. "We're suing the hospital and m' ma and pops are in there signin' papers."

I sat down beside her, lost on how to comfort her (Nico really did wear me out). "God, this hospital is like a maze, isn't it?"

She giggled. "Yeah, it is. So, what _you_ doin' here?"

"It's complicated, trust me. To cut it short, someone was kidnapped and then they were found."

The girl frowned, deep in thought. "M' friend said somethin' 'bout that. What school?"

"Goode Middle and High, why?" I asked. Yeah, our school's a combined Middle and High School.

"Tha's why, then. M' friend an' I go to gymnasti's wit' Kayla Know'es, who 'pparently knows the pers'n that was kidna'ed. She didn't ment'on it, but the instr'or told us to be care'ul with what we said 'round her 'cause of it." She frowned again. "I re-cog-nise you. You vi'eoed our perfo'mance, right?"

"Yeah, I did."

"So, who was kidna'ed?"

"My boyfriend," I sighed.

She bit her nail. "So, he's been foun' now?"

"Just earlier on today, yeah. Why you here, then?" I questioned.

Three years 'go, they gave m' nana wrong med'cation and she died. An' they almo' killed my sis'er. She's on the men' now, though."

I nodded. "Oh, that's awful."

"I's okay. I'm mostly ove' it. We never really go' on very well, anyway."

I looked at my watch. "Crap, can you direct me to the Sexual Health Emergency Ward?"

"Go to the Children's reception, take two lefts, then follow the signs."

"Thanks. Oh, I didn't catch your name."

"Lacey Rose. You?"

"Will Solace. Thanks for your help!" I called as I ran down the corridor.

I arrived in Bianca's ward, then text Reyna to say where it was, but I got an angry 'It's about damn time!' as a response. I left out of respect to the family, meeting up with Kayla, Austin, Michael, and Lee in the café.

oOo

Kayla launched herself at me, her eyes dry, but tear stains covered her cheeks, and her eyes were rubbed red and raw, demanding to know what took me so long. I explained my talk with Lacey, and she just rolled her eyes, muttering angrily, before settling back on Lee's lap. Michael was _endlessly_ checking to see if I was alright, to which I told him with doctor-firmness that I was, while Austin asked how Nico and Bianca were, and Lee asked what was going to next.

After this question-bombardment, they all launched all their anger at me, telling me to call the police no matter what anyone said if it _ever_ happened again, then we all gently comforted Kayla, who was now laughing at one of Michael's jokes, along with the rest of us.

When I met back up with Nico and the others, we were escorted outside, ensuing a lot a strange looks and people doubling-back down the hall to look at us. Nico will give you a huge, detailed description on our various injuries, so I will _pass_ on that one. Leave it to the professionals, I think.

We all scrambled into the van and Nico instantly fell asleep. Highlights of our conversation as we drove to the police station included death threats and bets.

"So, Nico how are you?" Reyna asked from the front.

I heard shifting from Nico's seat, but no response. I wearily cracked opened my eyes (no, I was _not_ sleeping, I was _resting my eyes_!) and saw Nico gradually sliding sideways in his seat, breathing steadily. "Aww, he's asleep!" Hazel whispered in low tones as Nico shifted around, his head and shoulders in my arms, his feet in Hazel's lap.

"Yeah, but what if he has a nightmare? I know I did," Octavian piped up.

"Be quiet," Hazel snapped back, but I shushed her.

Nico had started whimpering fretfully in his sleep. The screen of Luke's phone illuminated the back of the van. "So, _apparently_ , according to this website, the _heartbeat of a significant other will calm down someone with PTSD-like nightmares_ ," Luke read aloud, reading the last part in a suggestive sneer.

"Oh, shut up," I growled jokily, holding Nico's head to my chest.

He calmed down instantly, breathing settling and a smile appearing on his face. "He's adorable, isn't he?"

Reyna laughed. "Yep. He's like a baby. A little tiny Goth baby!"

I rolled my eyes. "Ha ha, Reyna, very funny."

"So, you're together now?" she asked needlessly.

"No shit, Sherlock," I remarked.

"Reyna owes me twenty bucks," Hazel chuckled.

" _Vaffanculo_ ," she muttered under her breath.

"Y'know, if you said that in Italy, you'd have entire crowds staring at you," I reminded her.

"Eh, who gives a _cazzo_?" she retorted. "Nico doesn't use it lightly: quite the opposite, actually."

"Yeah, but, if you ever go to Italy…" I trailed off, leaving it to her imagination.

"Aren't you worried about Nico's PTSD?" Luke asked.

"He's strong: more than we've credited him for. I'm just _so_ happy that he's safe!" I told him.

Luke rolled his eyes and went back to his bicker with Octavian over whether a 5-hour energy shot would give you 5 hours of half-energy or 2.5 hours of full-energy. I know, don't ask. I was fine with their little tiff until they began bringing _science_ into it.

oOo

Wow, Nico has crappy luck. He went over on his ankle and couldn't use his crutch due to the boot on his other foot. Not that I was complaining, of course, as I got to carry him. They directed us to a bedroom in the part of the station where officers stayed sometimes. I gently sat Nico down on the bed and began to walk out to ask the officer what I should do, when Nico began to _scream_ , the PTSD catching up with him. I ran back in, pulled him onto my lap, and held him close. "I'm okay, you're okay, we're okay. Shh, Angel, it's alright."

Nico nodded, still sobbing almost hysterically. I put my hand on his back and gently eased him down into a laying position. A young and out-of-breath officer puffed into the room, pushing an armchair in front of him. "If you need it," he said shortly, swiftly leaving the room.

Nico whimpered at the voice, but I gently reassured him, and, with a sniffle, and a wipe for stray tears, he slid over to the edge of the bed and leant against my legs, relaxing. I gripped his hand, which put my arm in a slightly uncomfortable, but bearable and just natural enough to be comfortably bearable. I threaded my fingers into his hair and traced my patterns on the back of his hand, until he fell asleep, and, much later, so did I.

oOo

I was woken by screaming. I jerked upwards and took five seconds to get my bearings, realising I was in the police station. I was asleep in the armchair beside Nico's bed, which the officer had pulled in the night before, so I could calm Nico down. Nico was screaming. I sat on the edge of the bed and pulled him into my arms. "Hush, Angel, hush," I comforted. "It's okay."

Nico was still sobbing, but he nodded at me. I pressed my lips to his and threaded my hands into his hair, wrapping it around my fingers. "Y'alright, Angel?" I asked when we broke apart.

Nico nodded stiffly, his face bright red with embarrassment and raw excitement. Octavian and Luke ran in just as he snuggled back into me for protection. Both looked dishevelled, with swollen lips. "Are you okay?" Luke blurted quickly, adjusting his tartan pants. "We heard screaming!"

I nodded gravely. "Nico had a nightmare."

"Don't blame 'im," Octavian muttered under his breath.

An officer stepped in and I groaned. I wasn't a big fan of the officers, just because of how useless they were in the kidnapping. "Is everyone alright in here?"

Nico nodded, sliding off my lap and staggering over to the sink to splash water on his face. "Yes, we are. I just had a nightmare, is all."

"Could you three leave while Mr. di Angelo gets changed?"

I stepped out into the hall and watched the officer pull the door shut as Nico pushed it.

"He said he had a nightmare. Is he alright now?" the officer asked.

I smiled dreamily, casting a sideways glance towards the door. "Yeah, I have my… methods of calming him down."

Octavian smirked, elbowing me in the side. "These 'methods', they wouldn't happen to involve _kissing_ him, now, would they?"

I rolled my eyes and smiled in a fond yet jokily annoyed way. "Oh, be quiet, _Octavius_! Yes, but _be quiet_!"

Luke sighed and tutted at us, before being unable to contain himself any longer, _burst_ out laughing. "SOL-AN-GE-LO!" he chanted. "SOL-AN-GE-LO! SOL-AN-GE-LO!"

"Oh, shut up," I chuckled.

"Done!" Nico called out.

He slipped out of the door. I smiled and ruffled is hair, then I pulled my sweater from around my waist and tugged it on. I promised myself that I'd change as soon as I got home, as I was going to start to _stink_ if I kept the outfit on much longer. As I walked, slowly, so Nico could keep up with me and put an arm over my shoulder for more support than his crutch gave him, someone thumped, hard, into my back.

" _Kayla_!" someone shrieked furiously.

I turned rapidly after gently yet quickly shrugging Nico's arm off my shoulder. " _Austin_?!" I exclaimed in disbelief.

He groaned, his face _smushed_ into the floor. "Yep."

I laughed joyously and helped him up. We had all been a little disoriented at the hospital, and it was all recalling the incident and catching up, so it was nice to talk to them properly. "Sorry to sound dismissive, but _why are you here_?"

"Well, we _had_ to come, didn't we?" Austin joked. "After all, Ohana means family, and family means no one sits alone at the mental institution!"

We all laughed, hugging each other. "It feels like it's the first time I've properly seen you!" I exclaimed.

Lee nodded in agreement. "We were all in a nuts _panic_ at the hospital, so I can second that."

Austin 'third-ed' it, then Kayla and Michael 'fourth-ed' and 'fifth-ed' it.

"Yeah, but…" Suddenly, I realised why. "Oh, right, the text messages!"

We all shuddered at the mere _mention_ of one of the milder things the horrible man had some. "Yeah," Kayla droned gloomily.

Luke, clearly irritated at the sudden change in mood, bent over to her ear to whisper something. Her face instantly brightened up and her lips parted. The four of us boys covered our ears, but Nico, Octavian, Luke, and the long-suffering officer weren't so lucky. Kayla _squealed_. The others visibly flinched, but Kayla swiftly apologised, not looking the least bit sorry, before punching my arm and making a kissy-face at me. I gently pulled Nico's arm over my shoulder and we continued to walk.

oOo

When we entered the large office, every single officer in the room stared at us. I'd say there were about twenty, which was intimidated to our rather diminished numbers in comparison. Luke and Octavian helped each other into seats once we were told to sit. Kayla and Austin practically _fought_ for the seat next to me, while Michael and Lee just laughed and rolled their eyes, sitting down and leaving two spaces for Kay and Austin. I practically _lifted_ Nico into the seat next to Bianca, then sat down myself. Bianca collapsed into a chair, Thalia beside her, and all the officers sat across from us, looking oh-so-serious. Hades and Persephone came in and sat with us, Hades behind Nico, holding his hand.

"They're bloody terrifying," Kayla hissed at me.

Before Austin even _opened his mouth_ , Lee snapped, "It's not a swear word!"

Two officers laughed. Nico gave Kayla a look in response to her first remark, and she shut up.

"So," the main officer began. "When did this happen?"

Hazel took a deep, shuddering breath. "Wednesday 19th of this month. I was in the bathroom and Nico came in. He saw something outside the blurred window, so we both climbed onto the windowsill and we saw a man taking photos. Nico shouted, go and take photos of your own house, asshole!' and he just, went away, I guess."

"The second time?"

"Friday 9th of this month. Solace was around my house, Hazel screamed, and I ran upstairs…" Nico began.

Finally, we got to the night of the incident. Austin pulled out his phone and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Will wasn't even home yet – he only got home at five, because he chose to walk – when I got a message from Hermes, saying 'I'm planning something big tonight'. I freaked out and showed the others."

A man not wearing any sort of uniform to identify him appeared at the door. The main officer turned around. "Ah, Detective Inspector! Have you turned up anything on the man's name?"

The DI nodded. "We traced it back to an amendment made in the name of his dead brother. He changed his name from Hermes Castellan to Mercury Olympus, then made an amendment to make it untraceable."

Austin punched the table in front of him in pure fry, startling everyone out of their minds. "I'll _kill_ him!" he shouted.

"Calm down, Austin!" Lee exclaimed. "It's gonna be okay!"

"I know," Austin growled. "But that doesn't make this bitch any less _sick_."

Our entire family and Nico stared at him. Austin had _sworn_. The head officer coughed to get the attention back to him, and we all instantly shut up. "Could Nico and Will read out their text messages?"

Nico held out his hand to Hazel. "My phone?" he choked out.

Hazel handed it over, telling Nico she changed the password. He groaned at her and tapped in 'SOLANGELO', rolling his eyes. "Solace, help," he read along.

"Nico, are you alright?" I continued, before giving up and handing my phone over to Austin. He looked surprised, but accepted it. "No nicknames," I hissed to him.

Nico quickly did the same to Hazel, telling her not to say the nicknames out loud. She rolled her eyes, but quickly obliged. We were almost halfway through the messages when Nico simply _burst_ out sobbing. I instantly put my arms around him, whispering into his ear. He went bright red when I muttered 'I love you' again, into his ear. The officers basically _cooed_ over us, snapping pictures and 'ohh'ing and 'aww'ing and generally being very unprofessionally.

They dragged themselves through the horrible, horrible, horrible tale of the last day of torture. Bianca only lost it when they got to when she got raped. And who could blame her? The officers instantly wrote up several more charges to the almost endless list already drawn up. Nico was furious, his face bright red and his hands shaking. "I'll _kill_ him, I'll _kill_ him!" he yelled.

The officers told us we were going to sue him and lock him up for _years_. Hades and Persephone had stayed moderately silent the _entire_ time, as I was doing a moderately good job in calming him down every time, but he leapt up and shouted that we had to get a restraining order against him. We all agreed. Octavian insisted his family needed one too, and even _Luke_ wanted one. We certainly overwhelmed to officers, but I wasn't paying any attention, too absorbed with comforting Nico. When I was able to, I excused us and ran us back to the room we had been allocated.

I lifted him onto my lap. "Oh, Nico…"

He leant into me and breathed heavily. I took his hand and traced the patterns on the back of it, the one thing that had become so familiar to us. Nico broke down very suddenly, cursing his life and screaming about how he wanted to die. I'm not lying or exaggerating when I saw that I almost had a heart attack. "You don't want to die, Angel," I consoled him. I know you don't. You're angry and scared, and it's perfectly normal. Now, I know you're going to hate me, because I'm treating you as if you were a little kid, but, I don't know what else to do…"

Then, Nico surprised me. He started kissing me. He kissed my neck and we both turned bright red, but he laughed, carefree, and locked lips with me. I threaded my hands into his hair and he tugged on my lower lip with his teeth as we broke apart. "I promise I won't let anything happen to you," I whispered.

"Will, you saved my life. You know that, right?"

My head was reeling and I blinked rapidly in shock. "What?"

"You love me, Sunshine, and you're not afraid to tell me. You know when I need to be alone, when I need comfort, when I need you, when I need Hazel, Bianca, or Reyna, when I need to be treated as an equal, or comforted as if I was younger. If you hadn't been among the people that found me, I would've had the impending mental breakdown already. You saved me from going insane."

To stop myself from squealing like the dork I am, I started flipping my phone in the air. We kissed again, which was when Nico finally noticed my phone flipping. "One day, we're all going to be standing around a broken phone, and Will Solace'll be the one that put it there."

I laughed, shaking my head and tutting at him. "Nico one, Neeks. Right, we've got to…" I began, about to say 'go back to the others', when I remembered Percy, Jason, and the like hadn't found out yet. "What?" Nico asked, confused.

"I've got to go to school tomorrow."

"Will," he began cautiously. I… Sunshine, you're going to be questions and interviewed over and over and over until the inevitable trial. You'll get the best of the story out right now. The further away from the whole incident we get, the more twisted the story'll become in your mind. Also, and this is coming from me, you are in no fit mental condition to be faced with that many people."

I shook my head. Now, I'm thinking Nico was most defiantly in the _right_ here, but. At the time, I just thought that he was a fine one to talk. "I need to tell Percy and the gang – face to face."

He sighed at me. "You, Will, are mad."

"I know," I laughed, pulling him to his feet. "Let's go."

oOo

"So, what's next on the list?" he asked, gripping my hand tightly.

I was literally half a second away from answering, when someone _screamed_ from down the hall. "NO!" the person, Luke, yelled. "A mental asylum! He can't go to a _mental asylum_!"

Luke was sat at a table, sobbing, with an officer failing to stop his tears. "Luke, are you alright?" Nico asked, shocked.

He crutched over and put an hand on his shoulder awkwardly. He must've put his arm in an awkward position on his crutch or something, because, one minute, he was saying, "Luke, please tell u-", the next he was falling to the ground. "SHIT!" he shrieked.

This utterly _shattered_ the tense atmosphere as we helped him up, checked him over, and gave him his crutch. Luke sighed and began to explain. "I have to go and live with my mum because my dad's taking a 'holiday' to a mental institution."

Nico and I looked at each other, panicked. When Luke and I were very little and we were best friends, his mum had tracked him down and come 'round as a 'surprise' when I was having a sleepover. She is totally _off her rocker_ , and _that's_ putting it lightly.

"Hey, your half brothers and sisters live with _their_ mums, don't they? You _could_ live with them," I suggested on a whim.

Luke shook his head. "They all live with Conner and Travis' mum. Alice and Julia, Conner and Travis. All four of 'em. No _way_ am I moving in with them four."

" _Those_ four," Nico corrected instantly. "A… foster guardian?"

Whenever someone says foster guardian, most people think of being disowned by their parents. Not me and Luke, oh no! We think of history teachers! "You'll never guess who fostered me when I was little after… yeah," he laughed, before realising that I knew the answer off the top of my head. "Actually, Will, don't answer that one."

I ignored him, already halfway through snapping my fingers and half-shouting, "Chiron!"

"Yep!" he grinned, sighing at me. "Maybe _he_ could!"

We looked at each other, not wanting to give him hopes that couldn't be confirmed in any way. He smiled wanly at us. "I know it might not happen, but I can hope, right?"

Octavian came barrelling, breath coming short. Wanting to give them their well-deserved 'alone time', we left the room, still gripping each other's hands.

oOo

We reached the main doors and Nico pulled me through, sitting on the top step. "So, where do we do from here?" he asked.

I sat down beside him and took his hand, tracing my patterns on the back. "What do you mean?"

"We're a court case now. Every interview, people will challenge us and poke fun at our opinions. I don't want it to pull us apart in the months it's gonna take."

I was astounded, but I put an arm around him and pulled him closer to me. "This won't break us apart. I swear on the River Styx."

"It's nice out here," he observed, looking out at the New York skyline. "No noise, no screaming, just… quiet."

I nodded, just realising how much I had missed just _talking_ with him, without all the screaming and worrying and checking our backs every two seconds. "Yeah, it's great, isn't it?"

It was so peaceful, just looking out at the sky together, not making a sound at all. I put a hand on his cheek and guided his lips to mine. When we broke apart, I could confidently say to him that, "It's going to be alright."

I saw a sparkle in Nico's eyes and smiled. We got a few looks from pedestrians, but we couldn't have cared less. Hazel walked out and sat on Nico's right, putting her arm around her. Kayla and Reyna creaked the door open, Reyna sitting beside Hazel and putting an arm around her shoulder, Kayla putting an arm around me. Austin, Lee, and Michael were stood in the doorframe, Michael with one arm around Austin, the other around Lee. He turned to Hazel, and then to me, giving both of us his family smile, the one that meant so much to all of us.


	24. Hospital - Nico

The door slammed shut and I heard Will go, "Dammit, I thought I had you with this spot!" in response to Luke's ear-piercing shriek of "FOUND YOU!"

He swiftly made his excuses and I heard the door bang shut. I took a deep breath and whispered, in Italian, "Bianca, we're safe. We're really and truly safe."

She sobbed harder and I managed to rasp out a few comforting words, before utterly giving up on talking.

oOo

Thirty minutes passed. I heard Octavian call to Luke, a clattering of steps, and Hermes exploding through the door. I heard a _very_ official-sounding voice, a loud shriek of "What the actual fuck, Ocky?!", and a key turning in the lock.

Five figures entered the basement and I did what I had been doing for the last three days, as a reflex to get someone's attention: I _screamed_. I heard glass crunching under someone's feet and I winced with each crack, crying. I could only make out a tall figure, walking over all the random shit on the floor with large, exaggerated steps. A hand touched my shoulder and I howled out loud in pain. The pain shot through my body with the sting of a thousand needles and I fought to get away from the _thing_ touching me. Light flooded the basement and I saw my best friend crouching beside me, dark bags under his eyes, concern adorning his features, and tears on his cheeks. Shocked, he slowly moved his hand away and brushed my blood-caked hair out of my face. "It's alright, Angel. You're safe now," he whispered to me.

I suddenly thrust myself forwards, straining and struggling against my chains. I wanted to get _out_ and run away as fast as I could. Will reached his arms out and put a hand under my thighs, another behind my back, and carefully lifted me back to a comfortable position. He knelt in front of me and carefully did what he could without bandages to clean the worst injuries and close up the clean ones. His fingers worked swiftly, squeezing out puss, blood, infections, dirt, and whatever other unspeakables had gathered in my injuries over my time in the basement. "Shh, it's okay." I fell towards him and he held me close, gently massaging my back.

Luke ran over and handed Will a water bottle. Luke came close to dropping the bottle several times, his eyes wide and terrified, hooded lids pulled halfway down over them. He looked absolutely _conked_ out, so I rasped out, "Thanks so much." He smiled at me and scuttled off across to the door.

Will opened it carefully with his teeth, as his hands were rough and dirty, as if they had been lifting bricks all day. He dripped a few drops in my mouth and I gasped with relief. He smiled and leaked in some more. Once I had gulped down almost half the bottle Luke charged down towards us again, a huge machine in his hands. I _shrieked_ and pressed my back against the wall. "Don't hurt me!" I blurted.

His face softened and he knelt to my sitting height. "I'm gonna cut you free, okay?"

I nodded numbly and tensed up as the tool came towards me. I squirmed in the chains, unwilling to stay still in case it was a trick, and they all wanted to hurt me. Luke had to hold my wrist steady. It stung horribly when he touched the raw flesh, making him apologise profusely when he realised. Will shielded my face from the metal debris. When I was free, Will took me into his arms and studied my injuries one more. I winced harshly when he came to the cuts on my upper arms. I moved to get away from him but he just smiled sadly and gently pressed his lips to an unscathed spot on my face. "I love you," he whispered.

" _Ti amo_ ," I whispered back.

Bianca started at us and I would've laughed at her facial expression if I hadn't been in such a fragile state. She rolled her eyes as Luke cut her free, then mouthed 'I'm safe!' at me, before bursting into tears and weeping onto Luke's shoulder. Will looked at her in terror, and I gently shook his shoulder, wincing when my hands stung. "I think Hermes…" I shuddered. "Raped her."

I burst into tears and called out blindly for my sister. Will screamed and Luke nodded sadly at us. "Someone call Thalia Grace!" Luke called out.

Octavian nodded at us to assure us that he had it covered, which was shortly followed by, 'SOL-AN-GE-LO!', which was annoying, to say the least. Will's arms were wrapped around my freezing, bare torso. I was thin from my anorexia I was still gaining weight to get out of, and my on-and-off eating disorder made we weak and sickly. Will sadly ran his fingers over my ribs, protruding awfully from my chest. I heard ambulance sirens outside and sobbed with relief. I tried to stand but pain shot through my ankle. Will frowned a little, but I smiled back and him and locked lips with him. I cautiously slid off his lap and he smiled. "I'm gonna go call Hazel, and tell her you're alright."

I nodded. "Thanks so much," I rasped. As an afterthought, I added, "Can you tell her I love her?"

"Of course," he promised, kissing my cheek lightly before turning and tripping and slipping the entire way out of the basement.

Bianca and I had to laugh, along with Octavian and even the emotionally scarred Luke. He glowered at us. "It's not fucking funny!" he shouted, falling over one final time before he vanished out of sight.

oOo

I was soon blatantly _shoved_ onto a stretcher and put in the back of an ambulance. As I was rushed through the hall, Will saw me and walked briskly over, brushing his hand over mine. "Good luck, Nico." Bianca was distraught to be separated from me, but, surprisingly, I was actually alright with it. The nurse with me cleaned some of my cuts while asked me questions that Luke, Octavian, and Will had presumably rattled off to her beforehand, just to check that I hadn't lost any memory. I didn't think she was used to talking to her patients (read: she wasn't used to her patients being conscious), because she talked stiffly and sometimes basically _forgot_ I was awake and looking at her the whole time.

"Where are your… six worst injuries?" the woman asked.

I was in stinging pain, and I was surprised and a little angry that I wasn't being treated. The nurse then excused herself to talk through the hatch to one of the men in the front. I heard the doctor scolding her for not treating me, then he asked me if any of my cuts had been infected. I replied with yes, telling him that Will had carefully and practically removed the infection with his fingers and the end of a knife alone. The doctor was surprised, but he told me that Will may as well be a certified genius, and that they would definitely employ him when he was older. I laughed a little, and he asked me to answer the question, which I did.

"Three knife wounds on each forearm curling down to the elbow and up to the shoulder," I whispered.

She was stunned by my answer, but continued. "Who is in your friendship group? Full names."

"Perseus Jackson, Annabeth Chase, Jason Grace, Piper McLean, Frank Zhang, Hazel Levesque, Leo Valdez, Calypso Olympus, Reyna Avila Ramirez-Arelleno, Rachel Elizabeth Dare, and William Solace."

"Your age?"

"Fourteen."

"What are the name of Will Solace's siblings?"

"Michael Yew, Lee Fletcher, Austin Lake, Victoria Raker, and Kayla Knowles."

Then, out of nowhere, she stabbed me in the hand with a needle and I was out cold. In hindsight, she could've done it earlier, and I would've been much happier.

oOo

When I woke, my upper arms were bandaged in thick hospital dressings, padding, and _slathered_ with iodine. My left foot was in one of those boot things, my left wrist was in a plaster cast, and all my other cuts were stitched. Treated, and covered up. It didn't hurt anymore. I tried to sit up and a wave of nausea instantly swept over me. I sighed and slid back down between the cold bedsheets, not wanting to breathe in the horrid, _horrid_ smell of pure and undiluted _hospital_. The door opened and a head of curly hair poked in. In my mind, everyone wanted to hurt me, so I _screamed_. Hazel stood stock-still in the doorway, instantly paling and looking hurt, shocked, like she was going the throw up there and then, but I continued to yell. "Get out!" I shrieked. "Go away!"

She yelped and practically tripped over her own feet trying to back out into the hall. I heard the sound of her throwing up and begging for Will to come in and talk some sense into me. A blonde head of curly hair came into the room and I relaxed. "Oh…" I gasped.

He sat in the chair beside my bed and sat beside my bed and held my hand. He said nothing, he just sat there, doing that _thing_ where you communicate whole sentences with just one look. I silently begged him to sit beside me and he obliged, holding me on his lap, absentmindedly admiring my bandages in his typical doctor style. "It's okay. You're safe now."

"We're going to lock him up," I decided firmly, balling up my fists and frowning hard. "Whether it takes one year or a hundred, I will _fight_ for justice against him."

It sounded really cheesy, like a movie or a TV show, but Will just smiled, ruffling my newly washed hair and locking lips with me again. I blushed bright red, but placed my hands on his jaw and smiled against his lips as he threaded his fingers into my hair. "I think we're going to the police station after this to give a statement."

I rubbed my eyes wearily. "Uhh, Holy Hera! I just can't get a damn _break_!" I paused to take a sip of water.

"Yeah, and I bet on Hephaestus Hand Grenades that you'll _never_ get one!"

"Also, don't expect me to know anything. No one's told me shit," I replied.

"Hades right they haven't!" he chuckled, tracing his oh-so-familiar heart patterns on the back of my hand, as well as 'it's okay' and 'I love you'.

We laughed and I leant into his chest, sighing with relief. Reyna poked her head onto the door just as Solace and I were kissing. She just smiled fondly and put a plastic bag down at the door of the bed, before _throwing_ herself at me. "Don't you _ever_ do that to me again," she ordered, kissing me on the cheek. "Oh, I'm _so_ glad you're safe."

I hugged her hard. "I won't, Reyna, I won't," I promised.

"You'd better not," she warned, suddenly softening. "Bianca's quite alright, you know. You – unfortunately – bear the brunt of the injury."

I nodded and we leant into each other, enjoying being able to see each other again. "Here, can I go and see Bianca?"

"I'll ask," they replied, dashing out of the room.

A few seconds later, Will called in. "Reyna's gonna help you get dressed. I gotta go find Bianca's ward with the gods-awful directions from that receptionist!"

I chuckled at him, muttering, "Now, why can't it be the other way 'round?"

Reyna roared with laughter as she helped me change, while I stayed moderately quiet with pure and utter embarrassment. Reyna blabbered senselessly about how she owed money to several people in our gang and random shit like how long Will had stayed awake trying to figure out how to show the world who kidnapped me.

After sitting around in my ward for a while, Will text Reyna to give her directions. She angrily responded 'it's about damn time!', before helping me up and walking with me there. We saw Will and he explained that he had talked to a girl called Lacey about what had happened and she had, in turn, said… never mind, he's probably explained it better than me.

When I swung the door open with my crutch, I saw my sister sobbing and Thalia hesitantly comforting her. I crutched over and burrowed eagerly into my sister's arms. "It's okay, _la mia amata sorella_ , you're safe now. I promise that he's never going to come back."

We talked for a while in Italian and I gradually managed to reduce her tears. Thalia tearfully asked me if it was true that Hermes had raped her. I could barely even tell her it was. When I told her we were suing Hermes for a _large_ amount of money, she brightened dup a bit, but Bianca was still beside herself. Who can blame her, after all? I may have gotten the worst in the injury department, but her virginity was just taken by a forty-something year-old man. Horrid thoughts surfaced in my mind of what I would do to Hermes, but, realising that this was how serial killers began their so-called 'careers', I quickly dispelled the thoughts, telling Thalia to constantly remind me that Hermes was going to jail. After almost an _hour_ , Will came back and we were escorted outside to a police van and police car.

We got a _lot_ of funny looks and ensued a lot of double-takes from nurses, doctors, and patients alike. Children and police _separate_ in a hospital isn't unusual, but the sight of _eight_ teenagers (me, Bianca, Hazel, Reyna, Thalia, Will, Luke, and Octavian), however, _is_. Not to mention that I had a boot on my left foot, a plaster cast on my left wrist, _countless_ visible stitches on my face, neck and hands (and keep in mind that this is _only_ the visible ones), as well as plenty of marks from injections on my hands, _and_ I was hobbling along on one crutch. Bianca had a broken knee, and therefore a support and crutches, as well as bruises, cuts and scrapes like me, but not on the same level of severity as me. Luke warranted a broken left elbow and two fingers on the same hand after Hermes had _launched_ himself at him, while Octavian was displaying a sling on his left arm from a broken collar bone, and a black eye on his left, as well as bruises forming all around the eye socket, from the _same_ attack.

I piled into the van with Luke, Octavian, Reyna, Hazel, Will, and two policemen. The events of the last week (-ish) were finally catching up with me. I instantly fell asleep, my head in Solace's lap and my feet in Hazel's. I heard them talking over my head before I fell asleep, and as I drifted in and out of consciousness. Aside from the many, _many_ death threats being exchanged around the occupants of the van, directed at, of course, Hermes, I heard snippets of conversations such as "…adorable, isn't he?" and "I'm just so happy he's safe," from Will as well as stuff like "Have you kissed yet?" and "Reyna owes me twenty dollars," from Hazel.

My dreams were _not_ pleasant. In my dream, Hermes was… I'll leave it to your imagination.

oOo

The station was quite _grand_ , actually. Will had to carry me after I went over on my ankle and couldn't use my crutch. (I have really fucked up luck, don't I?) We were set up in these cushy little bedrooms with a little bathroom in each. I swear, I didn't want to, but I started to scream just as Will left the room, afraid of my kidnapper coming to get me. Will ran back to me and held me close in his lap. "I'm okay, you're okay, we're okay. Shh, Angel, it's alright."

I nodded, still sobbing. He gently laid me down on the bed and sat beside me. I heard a muffled voice and shrieked quietly. Will just smiled at me and sat down in the armchair the owner of the voice had probably pushed in.

Will sat down in the armchair and I moved towards the edge of the bed leaning my back against his legs and clutching his hand, while he threaded his fingers into my hair.

oOo

I woke up screaming. In my dreams, Hermes was beating Will horribly, but I couldn't help him. Will reached out and pulled me into his arms when my yells woke him. "Hush, Angel, hush. It's okay."

I nodded, still crying. He pressed his lips to mine and curled my hair around his fingers, I threaded my fingers into his hair. "Y'alright, Angel?"

I nodded numbly, yet I was buzzing from the passion and love in his kiss.

Octavian and Luke appeared just as I buried my face into his chest. "Are you okay?" Luke blurted. "We heard screaming!"

Will nodded. "Nico had a nightmare."

"Don't blame 'im," Octavian muttered.

An officer stepped into the room. "Is everyone alright in here?" he asked.

I nodded, stumbling to my feet to wash my face. "Yes, we are. I just had a nightmare, is all."

"Could you three leave while Mr. di Angelo gets changed?"

They stepped out and I closed the door.

oOo

I had clearly missed something, but I didn't care. I'd ask Will about it later, anyway.

I burst into tears. I had caused _such_ a _commotion_. Maybe, if I had tried a little harder, shouted a little louder, they would've heard me on the first day. If I wasn't trying to be the 'brave little brother' and check up on Bianca, I mightn't have been kidnapped in the first place! Yet, there I was, sat in a police station, recounting the entire incident, being treated like a… a… _hospital patient_ , a sick little boy, too fragile to bear the slightest noise. In a flash, Will's arms wrapped around me and I buried my face into his hoodie. Bianca and I eventually got through the story of the last _whole day_ of horrible beating, torture, and abuse, with loud sobs and bouts of quick, creaking hiccupping when we held back our tears. Then, Will quickly excused us and we left the room and slowly found our way back to the room we'd been sharing. He hesitated briefly, before sitting on the bed and lifting me onto his lap. "Oh, Nico…"

I leant into him, all my anger and frustration melting away. He took my hand and traced heart patterns, 'I love you', and 'It's okay' on the back of my hand. I couldn't take it anymore. I broke down into his chest, cursing my life and shouting about how I wanted to die. Will looked like he was about to have a heart attack. "You don't want to die, Angel. I know you don't. You're angry and scared, and it's perfectly normal. Now, I know you're going to hate me, because I'm treating you as if you were a little kid, but, I don't know what else to do…"

I kissed his forehead, then his nose, then his cheek, then his neck. He gasped sharply and turned bright red. I flushed too, but locked lips with him and rested my hand in his hair. Will moved his lips against mine and threaded his long fingers into my hair. As we pulled apart, I gently pulled his curls and tugged on his bottom lip with my teeth. "I promise I won't let anything happen to you," he whispered against my lips.

"Will, you saved my life. You know that, right?"

"What?" he gasped, shocked and confused.

"You love me, Sunshine, and you're not afraid to tell me. You know when I need to be alone, when I need comfort, when I need you, when I need Hazel, Bianca, or Reyna, when I need to be treated as an equal, or comforted as if I was younger. If you hadn't been among the people that found me, I would've had the impending mental breakdown already. You saved me from going insane."

As I spoke, Will was unconsciously flipping his phone in his hand. After we kissed passionately again, I noticed his phone spinning in the air, the screen landing to face me every time. "One day, we're all going to be standing around a broken phone, and Will Solace'll be the one that put it there."

He sighed fondly, shaking his hand and tutting. "Nice one, Neeks. Right, who've we got to… shit!" he exclaimed suddenly.

"What?" I asked.

"I've got to go to school tomorrow," he blurted.

"Will," I cautioned. "I… Sunshine, you're going to be questions and interviewed over and over and over until the inevitable trial. You'll get the best of the story out right now. The further away from the whole incident we get, the more twisted the story'll become in your mind. Also, and this is coming from me, you are in no fit mental condition to be faced with that many people."

He shook his head defiantly. "I need to tell Percy and the gang – face to face."

I sighed. "You, Will, are mad."

"I know," he chuckled, taking my hand and pulling me to my feet. "Let's go."

oOo

"So, what's next on the list?" I asked, holding his hand tight as we walked down the hall.

Before he could answer, there was a loud howl of anguish from down the hall. " _No_! A mental asylum! He can't go to a _mental asylum_!"

We burst in to see Luke sobbing, an officer sat in front of him, trying and failing to comfort him. "Luke, are you alright?" I gasped, hobbling over and putting a hand on his shoulder. Unfortunately, to do this, I had to take my hand from the bar on my crutch and awkwardly balance it using only my elbow. As you can expect, this didn't exactly work out. I put too much pressure on my heels and went _crashing_ to the floor. Despite not hitting any of my injuries, it still hurt a great deal. "Shit!" I exclaimed.

Luke and Will burst out laughing and I grumbled as they helped me up, checked me over, and gave me back my crutch. "I have to go and live with my mum because my dad's taking a 'holiday' to a mental institution."

I looked at Will in a panic. I knew from a first-hand experience I would _like_ to forget that Luke's mum lost her marbles _long_ ago. "Hey, your half brothers and sisters live with _their_ mums, don't they?" Will suggested. "You _could_ live with them."

Luke shook his head, grinning a little. "They all live with Conner and Travis' mum. Alice and Julia, Conner and Travis. All four of 'em. No _way_ am I moving in with them four."

" _Those_ four," I corrected automatically, before suddenly coming up with a suggestion. "A… foster guardian?"

His face lit up. "You'll never guess who fostered me when I was little after… yeah," he chirruped, before awkwardly trailing off. "Actually, Will, don't answer that one."

Will ignored him, showily snapping his fingers. "Chiron!"

"Yep!" Luke grinned, sighing at Will and shaking his head. "Maybe _he_ could!"

Will and I looked at each other, not wanting to enforce false hopes. Luke smiled wanly at us. "I know it might not happen, but, I can hope, right?"

Octavian ran in, gasping. We were confident they wouldn't kill each other if we left them almost, so we left them to it.

oOo

We left the room and walked out to the front of the building, sitting down on the steps. "So, where do we go from here?"

"What do you mean?"

I took a breath. "We're a court case now. Every interview, people will challenge us and poke fun at our opinions. I don't want it to pull us apart in the months it's gonna take."

He draped an arm over my shoulder and I leaned into him, sighing. "This won't break us apart," he promised. "I swear on the River Styx."

"It's nice out here," I commented. "No noise, no screaming, just… quiet."

He nodded in agreement. "Yeah. It's great, isn't it?"

Looking out on the sky together was the most peaceful I had been in months. Will put a hand on my cheek and locked lips with me. "It's going to be alright."

The two of us must have looked so strange to passers-by. A short Italian teenager with horrific injuries (a boot on my foot, a cast on my wrist, a crutch by my side), cuddling a tall, tanned, unscathed blonde who was the very personification of 'sunshine' and 'surfer', but we didn't care. Hazel came out and sat on my right, putting an arm around me. Kayla and Reyna came out next, Kayla sitting beside Will, Reyna with her arm over Hazel's shoulder. Michael, Lee, and Austin were stood in the doorway, smiling crookedly at us. We're all a little bit broken, but we can fix each other. I turned to Hazel, then to Will, giving them both my special, wholehearted, family smile, glad I was finally able to feel happy. "I love you," I smiled. "All of you."


	25. Six Months Later - Will

It feels so strange to be writing here again. Nico told me he'd started his again, so I thought it'd be a good opportunity to finish off mine.

It's worth mentioning that the trial was two months ago, and it's ten months since the kidnapping. To be exact, it's July 17th.

Nico and I have counselling sessions every other week, mine on the Thursday and his on the Friday. Nico's mental state was in shambles for two months after the whole issue, but he _didn't_ have the 'impending mental breakdown', but it was apparently and one in twenty chance that he _wouldn't_ have it, so I take back what I said about my boyfriend's crap luck.

Nico's only suffering minor PTSD, but the same can't be said for his sister. I'm going to leave that to him, as it's not my place to talk about it. Nico's suffering from serve anxiety and he's on depression medication right now, and will be for a while. He has panic attacks that scare everyone around him shitless. He's down to three a day, but, before it was around _ten_ , which I learned how to handle pretty quickly.

Of course, the help doesn't just go one way. I've had several major panic attacks since the incident, but I don't have any notable disorder. It was just the aftermath finally getting to my head. Nico was there for every single one, and, had it not been for him, I would probably be in a mental hospital right about now.

We've all had our fair share of nightmares, but I can tell you first-hand that sleep paralysis is _not_ fun. It was kind of sick luck that I got it at a sleepover at Percy's, because Piper woke up, saw me, thought something was off, and spent ages trying to wake Nico up (he sleeps like a log sometimes). By the time he'd woken up, I was out of it and jerked up screaming. Naturally, I scared the piss out of everyone that had woken up in confusion, who thought I was still asleep because they couldn't see my open eyes, and was staring at Piper frantically trying to wake Nico, not to mention I woke up everyone that was asleep and scared the living Hades out of Paul and Sally.

Hermes was in jail from after the kidnapping to before the trial, and, through some weird loophole in the law, he got 'parole', which he subsequently used to stalk us. Needless to say, we called his parole officer and he was back in prison within a few hours.

Octavian and Luke are suffering too. Octavian's going through counselling to cope with the abuse _he_ got from Hermes, and Rachel's turned into basically a protective mama bear over her suffering brother. Luke ended up getting adopted by Chiron, and he's coping well. The restraining orders are finally in place, which relives us all greatly.

Another point I think I should make is that Nico is currently on-and-off using a cane, but I think he'll explain it better than me, so I'll also leave _that_ to him.

oOo

So, I'm going to start this when Luke scared the fuck out of me in a lesson while reminding me of something.

I was bending down to the laptop trolley to get out three of the sleek, new laptops for me, Lou, and Cecile, when someone hissed from behind me, "Hey, I just remembered something."

I jumped out of my skin and whipped around. "Holy crap!" I breathed. "Luke, you scared the shit out of me!"

He smirked. "Thought you were gonna pull a Kayla and say 'Holy chicken fajitas'. Kinda disappointed that you didn't, to be honest."

I rolled my eyes. "So, what is so urgent that you needed to scare the 'holy chicken fajitas' out of me in the middle of a class?" I asked him, irritated.

"The Trial!" he blurted. "It's in three months!"

I jumped. Was it really _that_ close? "Holy crap, is it?"

"June 13th," he told me.

"Uh, shit," I muttered. "I'll catch Nico on the way back from maths."

"Just to clarify, there's _four_ defendants, not five or six. Neither you nor Hazel will be included."

I sighed. "I _know_ that, Luke, but I'm probably the least mentally scarred out of all of us. I can at least _help_!"

He rolled his eyes. "Wasn't implying that you can't. So, Thalia and Bianca are working on Bianca's together, Chiron's helping me and Ocky, so I guess me and you can help Nico?"

"Sure, do you have papers or somethin'?" I asked.

"Yep!" he grinned, popping the 'p' at the end. I'll show you at lunch, then we can go to Nico after school in his classroom."

"It's a deal," I replied, sealing the deal between our hands.

oOo

I ran up behind Nico but, before I could say a word, he saw me out the corner of his eye and threw his planner at me. "Nico," I blurted. "Luke reminded me of something."

"Oh gods, what is it?" he sighed, retrieving his planner. "Sorry, buy the way."

"Oh, it's no problem," I told him.

Nico put all his weight down on his left foot and winced, his entire leg shaking. "Shit, I need to get my cane from the nurses' office."

Nico leaves is cane in the nurses' office when he doesn't need it, which is great, until he hurts his leg and needs it when he's in a totally different block. I shoved my stuff on Lou Ellen and Cecile, while Nico ditched his stuff on Hazel, which she _did_ agree to. I pulled his arm over my shoulder and we walked (limped) to the nurses' office. I found his cane, leaning up against the wall in the corner, and gave it to him. He sighed with relief when he took the weight off his foot. "So, what is it?" he asked as we walked (crutched) back to the EA block.

"It's the Trial in three months!" I blurted. "June the 15th!"

"Shit!" he exclaimed.

"Nico, language!" he warned.

' _Austin's rubbing off on you,'_ I thought, but, out loud, I said, "Oh, get knotted!"

"Okay," I smirked, and started tying myself in a knot, putting my head under one arm, putting the other over my shoulder, and twisting my legs together until I looked like I was in a strange yoga position.

Nico playfully hit me with his cane, but he did it harder than intended. He caught me before I hit the ground, but I could tell it hurt his leg. I pulled his arm over my shoulder and took the weight off his leg for a few seconds until the pain died down. He suddenly attacked me in a full-on kiss, because no-one was around to see us. Before we could deepen the kiss, we pulled apart, gasping and laughing, both blushing furiously. Nico took my hand I began tracing patterns on the back of his hand as we limped along to our classrooms. "Can it, Sunshine," he snickered at me, referring to my previous sentence. "We can organise some stuff tonight at yours. Whatever you want."

That's another thing I love about Nico. He always makes decisions without my approval, then quickly realises that he's done it. He'll get all cute and flustered, then quickly tell me that I don't have to go along with it if I don't want to. Of course, I always do. After all, it's the least I can do for the person that stopped me from going insane. "Sure thing, Angel. You're the boss," I told him, chuckling.

He laughed and kissed he subtly on the cheek, watching me walk up the stairs before limping off to his classroom.

I chuckled and kissed him on the cheek, limping off to my classroom.

oOo

For history, we had one of those stereotypical, shitty sub teachers that you typically get in books and movies.

On a side note, Chiron, our teacher, was out of town, as he was caught up in a family lawsuit, as his half-sister Demeter suing their dad Kronos, for verbal and mental abuse when she was little.

His dad has some insane disease, but Luke told us all this at a sleepover with Octavian, Rachel and Reyna, so I wasn't really paying attention. Rachel, Reyna, Octavian, and I were all scaring ourselves shitless with videos, but Luke and Nico had gone to get some chocolate and stuff from the kitchen, and he told Nico them. Side note, they have this really cool floorplan light in the lounge, so you can just tap the room on the floorplan and the lights turn on, which is good, because Nico and I have a _very_ irrational fear of going into dark rooms alone or with someone.

Anyway, back to the bitchy stereotypical teacher.

"Miss, did Hitler ever give a reason as to why he kidnapped Jews and only Jews?" Piper asked, in that lispy, cute voice she always used with substitute teachers.

"Jews are retarded bitches," she replied dismissively.

We were all shocked. We heard cussing on a daily basis, but this was a _teacher_. Teachers did _not_ , under _any_ circumstances _swear_. "What makes you say that?" Piper lisped once again.

We all gulped, thinking she was pushing her luck. And we were _absolutely right_.

"Because only retarded, mentally ill, sick, disabled fucks get themselves kidnapped," she sneered.

The heads of everyone in Percy's gang quickly turned to face Nico. He was sitting, propped up on his elbows, head in hands, eyes screwed shut, shaking all over. His breathing was fast and irregular, and I saw him cock his head to the side, as he did when he got dizzy.

Percy and I jumped up, Percy clumsily escorting Nico out while I ran to the reception, where I had a _very_ frustrating conversation with the receptionist, who refused to believe me, acting concerned and asking me if I was on hallucination meds from the incident that I forgot to take. Insulted, I stormed off to the medical room.

When I got there, Nico was sat beside Percy, who was popping Nico's meds from the case and getting him to swallow them with water. I sat down next to him, holding him close to me, whispering into his ear and kissing him senseless, so to speak. Eventually, after half an hour, Nico could go back to the lesson for the last fifteen minutes.

When we got back in, the substitute sneered, "Wimpy little retard."

I turned my head and saw Frank standing up. He's not 'big' in that sense, but the guy's really muscular, but usually kind and sweet-voiced. This time, he wasn't. "Do you want to say that again?" he growled.

The sub muttered something about disrespectful bitches, and this drove us over the edge. On Percy's cry of "Let her have it!", we launched into one of those crazy, unrealistic, co-ordinated class attacks you get in high school movies and books. The assault involved a lot of death-threats, verbal abuse, and high-velocity post-it note pads. Oh, Zeus have mercy on her.

oOo

I was thoroughly impressed with the amount of work Luke had painstakingly printed out, taken notes on, marked, labelled, and categorised. We headed down to Nico's classroom, bustling our way through the crazy end-of-day, must-get out crowd.

Nico saw us, then the armfuls of paper Luke was carrying in his arms and in binders, plastic wallets and such. "So, someone came prepared," he announced.

"Ohhh, shit," he followed up. "For the Trial, right?"

Every one of his friends turned at the mention of the word, and I snorted loudly, making a few others look at me. "Here, lemme look!" he said, sounding excited.

We gave over a few and Nico flipped through them, looking shocked. "Holy shit, Luke, this is amazing! How the hell did you get this together?"

Luke flushed. "Chiron helped. I couldn't have done it without him, so I'm not takin' the credit," he told us modestly. "He went to the police and asked for a bunch of his records and… I've got them here. There's medical, stuff he wrote, like poetry, which is hella disturbing. There's a bunch of other random shit, like the police records 'n' stuff."

"Here, Luke, you seem to know more than Nico and I combined. Do you want to come back to mine tonight?"

Erm, yeah, sure," he replied, after mulling it over for a second.

I knew the only reason he'd agreed is because Octavian had band practice, so he'd be hanging out in an empty house for hours, and, although the prospect of that _seems_ cool, in practice, It'd scare anyone involved in the kidnapping absolutely shitless.

oOo

We got on the bus and sat down near the front, Nico and I sat together, with Luke behind us with our bags on the seat beside him. Nico pulled out a box file and I saw Luke's eyes glimmer 'evilly'. "So, Nico, do the file and the folders represent you?" he asked.

"What d'ya mean?" he asked, quickly flipping through the poetry Luke had given to him.

He grinned. "Well, the folder's black, right?"

"Yeah…" he replied, not catching on.

"And the folders inside are rainbow…" he carried on.

"Yeah…" Nico frowned.

"So, it's like you!" he cried loudly, turning loads of heads.

I hit him with the thick stack of paper I was holding. "Keep it _down_!" I scolded him.

Luke rubbed his head, but continued to annoy Nico. "Well, you're all dark outside, but, inside, you're _all rainbow_!"

Nico frowned deeply, so I kissed him full-on the lips. He kissed back, before pulling away, blushing a little. "Really, Luke?" he sighed.

"Yep, _really_ ," he chuckled.

"Immature," he joked. "Can you give me the rest of the poetry?"

Luke handed it to him and he put it into a red folder, scrawling 'Poetry' on the label in his unique handwriting. "There we go."

"Why the red folder?" I muttered, not expecting Nico to hear me.

"Sunshine, all the poetry's about spurting blood and gunshot wounds for Pete's sake! It kind of makes sense to put all the stuff about _blood_ in the _red_ folder. It's how my mind works."

I rolled my eyes, all too familiar with the way my boyfriend's colour-orientated mind work. Nico kissed my cheek in sympathy. "C'mon, Sunshine," he smiled, batting his eyelashes flirtatiously.

"Ugh, _couples_!" Luke moaned.

We laughed. "So, do you have any… mental health records?" I asked carefully.

Luke handed some over and I saw something I didn't want to see. Violent schizophrenic, bipolar, mental, possibly insane… What the actual _fuck_?!

"Oh, shit, _that's_ disturbing," I muttered, before reaching my limit. "Fuck, no! Nico, put it in a folder, would you?"

Nico pulled the paper off me. "Bipolar, violent schizophrenic… Luke, did you know this?" he gasped.

"I knew he had 'voices inside his head' when I was little, because he would literally talk to them, before… y'know, so I kind of assumed once I got old enough, but I never knew for certain until I got my hands on these."

"That's going in the orange folder…" Nico mumbled to himself. "You know what? Luke, can you sort it out?"

He handed it over to Luke and collapsed onto me in a deep sleep. I caught him and adjusted him into a comfortable position, taking his hand as I began tracing my patterns on the back of it, kissing him on the forehead as he fell asleep.

oOo

I gently shook Nico awake and we got off at my stop. We walked to my house and I practically pulled them inside. I didn't get the usual chaotic greeting, as everyone seemed to be distracted by my two siblings, Kayla and Lee, tangled together on the floor beside the stairs, Lee in his normal clothes and Kayla clad in her emerald-green leotard. When I walked in, I had seen Kayla's blurred form falling from the banister, and I'd heard her and Lee go _crashing_ to the floor.

"Holy shit, Kayla!" he screamed.

Austin shouted, "Don't swear, Lee!" from the kitchen.

"What in the name of Olympus happened?" I exclaimed.

Kayla grinned ruefully, blushing shamefully. "I grabbed onto the banister and did a flip off it as Lee walked underneath."

I facepalmed, as did the other two. "Come on, Luke, Nico," I sighed, leading them upstairs.

Nico pointed to his cane, then to the stairs, indicating he couldn't lift his bad foot high enough. I sighed and pick him up, but he struggled in my arms. I laughed at him, kissing his nose and running up the stairs effortlessly with him in my arms. Luke was sick and tired of being third-wheeled whenever he hung out with us, so he looked at Austin for help, before picking up my cane and trudging up the stairs. Austin gave him a sympathetic look and followed him up, sitting beside him on the couch, while Nico sat on my huge beanbag and I sat in my old, comfy, sagging leather armchair.

"I can't see someone be third-wheeled, seriously," he announced to the room.

Luke grinned. "Who third-wheels you then?"

"Chiara Benvenuti and Damien White," he replied, chuckling and shaking his head fondly.

They were a well-known couple that weren't very touchy-feely, they just talked and had little arguments about dumb topics.

I heard ragged breathing from beside me and, when I grabbed Nico's hand, it was shaking violently. Austin and Luke's eyes read something between 'okay, this is usual', 'alright…', and 'what the _fuck_?', but they appeared composed. I put a hand around his shoulders and guided him downstairs to the games room. I sat down on the sofa, worried, as Nico looked really out of it and disorientated, more so than usual.

I pulled Nico into my lap and he nuzzled into my chest, still shaking. I know, I know, you're meant to let someone having a panic attack move around to their own needs, but Nico and I realised pretty early on that he prefers to stay with whoever he's with. I loosely wrapped my arms around him, and fumbled through a comforting sentence, despite the fact I get way more scared than necessary when he had these panic attacks. "Hey, there's nothing to worry about, Angel. Don't worry, Neeks, he's gone now," I told him.

Despite it was possibly the oldest sentence in the book from me (seriously, I use it every damn time), it worked. His breathing slowed and he blinked the tears from his eyes. "You okay?" I breathed.

He nodded, still a little shaken. I took his hand and we went upstairs together. When Kayla saw us, she just rolled her eyes. "Don't kill each other."

"Wasn't planning on it!" I shouted as I opened the door to my room.

We went back in and Austin and Luke were sat marking important information out with green ink pens. We sat down and began to help them.

When we finally finished, Luke checked his phone and with a "Crap, I gotta get home," left.

oOo

So, with everything regarding Hermes and the kidnapping, we're all managing. I don't think Nico and I will edit our stories again, but, who knows, someone else might.

Thanks for reading my story, it's been a pleasure.

Will Solace


	26. Six Months Later - Nico

**I hope you like this chapter. Will's character seems a bit wooden, I guess. Could you tell me what you think?**

Wow, I never thought I'd actually _open_ this folder again. It felt like I'd just closed a chapter of my life, finishing my story, but something compelled me to write in it again.

It's ten months after the kidnapping as I write, July 13th, and we're all mostly moved on. Of course, we're all physically, emotionally, and mentally scarred from the incident, but who can blame us? It's just been the Trial, two days short of a month ago, so I thought it would be a good time to close off this story.

I'm not suffering any major PTSD from the whole traumatic episode, but Will and I do get the occasional nightmare. Will and I get counselling very two weeks after school, his on Thursdays, mine on Fridays, so we're doing alright. You can tell from the fact that I'm writing in this document and I'm not doomed to the same fate as Hermes that I haven't had my 'impending mental breakdown', though my emotional breakdowns have become a lot more severe. I'm on depression medication, but Will, Hazel, Reyna, Bianca, and the gang are an immense help. I was diagnosed with severe anxiety a month after the kidnapping, and, until there months ago, I was prone to around _ten_ panic attacks a day, now, I'm down to three a day at the most, which happen in triggering situations, for example, if I see someone that looks particularly like Hermes or the topic of kidnappings comes up in class, but I got off very lightly, as I could be a lot worse.

Although _I'm_ not suffering any major PTSD, Bianca unfortunately is. She's a lot better than she was three months ago, and her therapist and doctor estimate that she'll be at the same stage I am now within a year. She's still in school, if course, but she plans to leave at the end of this year (15-16) and go into specialised counselling training, and she does a lot of volunteer work for the local Rape Crisis Centre.

Another major point of fact is that my shoulder bones and tendons really took a beating in the kidnapping. As a result of this, I have to be _very_ reserved in P.E lessons, as I can only _fully_ participate in basketball, rounders, and track, which is running. If I particularly overwork myself, fall over, for sleep in an awkward positon, I have to use a cane, because of some weird spinal shit that makes it so I can't walk properly, which makes me feel like an old man, if I'm completely honest. Whenever I use it at school, Hazel usually carries my stuff between lessons, as they make us carry so much stuff you generally need two arms, and Hazel's strong. In history and art, Will usually takes my stuff, and, in maths, it's usually Reyna.

oOo

I consider this a rather important, if hilarious, point in this story, so I thought I'd include it. This is when I came back to school. To clarify, I was 'taken' on the Monday, found on the Thursday, and went back to school the following Wednesday. I know, I know, I should've taken longer off, but my friends were so hyped-up to see me, I couldn't refuse.

Hazel laughed at me as I did a Jedi hand-wave at the automatic doors. I childishly stuck my tongue out at her as we walked (I crutched) down the hall. A few students from my different classes turned to gawk at me, but I just grinned and chatted to Hazel, who was moaning about a bitchy substitute teacher she'd had in maths. We approached the lockers at the end of the hall and got out all our stuff. Hazel took what I needed for geography and history, as well as her own stuff for history and geology (which I didn't take), and opened the door with her elbow.

We walked in on the usual mental chaos of my class in the early mornings, people sitting on the cabinets that lined the walls, jumping around on the desk, and, in the case of a small group of five, trying to get sticky silver putty down from the ceiling that one of them had thrown up there.

When Percy, Jason, Frank, Leo, Annabeth, and Piper saw me, they all froze. Percy and Jason were the first to move, as they shoved their chairs back and ran over to me. I knew they were going to attack me, but the six of them hugged me senseless, so, when they released me, I fell to the floor. "Holy shit, guys!" I laughed. "It's good to see you too!"

Percy and Jason pulled me up and let me get through to my desk. Hazel practically threw down our stuff and turned to talk to them. "Gosh, guys, give him some space!"

I shook my head, chuckling. "Hazel, it's fine."

Percy looked the most concerned out of all of them. "Nico, are you okay?"

I sighed and began to give him a run-down of all my injuries. When I was done, I added, "And I was diagnosed with depression and anxiety and start taking my meds tomorrow."

Needless to say, the whole group almost had a heart attack. Piper kind of blinked in shock. I chuckled humourlessly. "I'm on temporary meds for the time being."

"He's still the same person, so stop looking at him like he's the personification of _evil_!" Hazel blurted.

This, of _course_ , set Leo off, and the rest of us quickly followed. We were still in peals of laughter when our form tutor, Miss Hunt, walked in. She shooed us back to our seats and began to take the register. On my name, everyone looked up in mild surprise on my name. Hazel hissed to me that they had been told that I was in the hospital for one reason or another.

"So, Nico, how are you?" she asked. "You were in hospital, weren't you?"

Hazel leant over to me. "She knows but the class doesn't. Only your friends do, so don't give the game away if you don't want to."

I nodded. "I'm good, thank you, miss."

"Could you tell us what injuries you sustained?" she asked carefully.

"I broke my wrist…" I began, only to be cut off.

"You can't break your wrist, only sprain it!" someone called out.

"I thought you would know that, being 'friends' with Will Solace," Percy chuckled.

I groaned. Clearly Hazel had told them. "Shut up," I told him, sighing in irritation. "Fine, I _sprained_ my wrist, so I'll be using a laptop, I broke my ankle, strained tendons in my shoulder, bruised my ribcage and I have tonnes of lacerations."

"What did you do?" someone else called out.

"Will Solace," Hazel muttered.

"Shut _up_ ," I demanded. "I can't say what happened."

"Why?" another person shouted, before being shut down by Miss Hunt's stern look.

"Never mind," they squeaked in a small voice.

"Legal reasons," I smirked.

oOo

Now, I'm going to get on to what happened when Will reminded me the Trial was in only six months.

Will ran up behind me in the corridor as we were walking back to the classroom for lunch, and I threw my planner him as a reflex, as he still _towers_ over me, as he scared the crap out of me. "Nico," he blurted. "Luke reminded me of something."

"Oh gods, what is it?" I asked, picking up my planner. "Sorry, by the way."

"Oh, it's no problem," he assured me.

I shifted between my feet, but when I put the weight on my left foot, I winced harshly. "Shit, I need to get my cane from the nurses' office," I moaned.

When I come to school, I take my cane, and leave it in the nurses' office when I don't need it. Will winced sympathetically, asking Lou Ellen to carry his stuff, while Reyna took mine. He helped me limp to the nurses' office, where he took my cane and gave it to me. I gently closed the fingers of my right hand around the cane and smiled at him. "So, what is it?" I asked as we walked (crutched) back to our classrooms, through the sport, assembly, and miscellaneous block, heading towards the courtyard between the blocks.

"It's the Trial in three months!" he exclaimed. "June the 15th!"

"Shit!" I exclaimed. It was March 3rd at the time, so the thought of Hermes' sentencing being so close was terrifying. Before the trial, Hermes was jailed for three months before he got parole due to a weird loop in the system. Long story short, he started to stalk me while _on_ parole, Hazel called up his parole officer, and he was jailed again until the trial.

"Nico, language!" he warned.

' _Austin's rubbing off on you,'_ I thought, but, out loud, I said, "Oh, get knotted!"

"Okay," Will grinned, and started tying himself in knots just outside the doors, putting his head under one arm, wrapping one leg around the other, until he looked like he was in some sort of warped yoga positon.

I burst out laughing and playfully hit him with my cane, catching him before he fell over, pain shooting up my leg. He pulled my arm around him and took the weight off my bad leg for a few seconds, letting the pain die down. When the pain stopped, I gave him a full-on kiss on the lips, as no one was around to see us. He turned bright red, but I just squeezed his hand and began walking again, him going slower than normal to keep up with me, even though I'm almost at my normal walking speed on my crutch nowadays. "Can it, Sunshine," I laughed. "We can organise some stuff tonight at yours. Whatever you want."

"Sure thing, Angel. You're the boss," he replied.

I chuckled and kissed him on the cheek, limping off to my classroom.

oOo

I had one of my panic attacks in history.

As I said earlier, I get, at most, three panic attacks a day, none if I'm very, very, _very_ lucky. One is average, two if I'm badly triggered, and three if I'm very unlucky.

I suddenly freaked out because of the _bitchy_ substitute teacher filling-in for Chiron, who was caught up in a family lawsuit to do with his half-sister Demeter going to court against their father, Kronos, for verbal and mental abuse when she was a child, as Luke told us, because Chiron _didn't_ just end up becoming his foster guardian, but his adopted father.

Luke also told us that Kronos has this insane disease that makes him age _twice_ as slow, making him only forty years old physically, despite he's been alive eighty years. Luke admitted he'd tried to get his head around the genetics of this disorder, but he gave up after three weeks of research. Basically, if he died at the average age, eighty, he'd have been alive one hundred and sixty years, so all his children are ridiculously far apart in age, as Demeter is only twenty-eight.

Anyway, back to the bitchy substitute teacher. She carelessly mentioned ( _mentioned_ ) that only retarded fucks get themselves kidnapped, as we were talking about thousands of Jews that were taken to Auschwitz Concentration Camp.

I started breathing quickly and unevenly, and the entire world spun. Percy rushed me to the medical room and comforted me while Will reported the sub at reception. This anxiety attack quickly turned into one of my minor emotional breakdowns and it took half an hour of kissing, cuddling, and whispered affections for me to regain my senses and calm myself down enough to go back to our lesson. Will sadly told me that the reception hadn't believed his report, but I just chuckled and told him that they would.

The substitute sneered and called me a wimpy little retard. I heard a gravelly voice from the back of the room snap, "Do you want to say that again?"

I looked around to see Hazel's usually calm and sweet-voiced brunette boyfriend standing up in his place. The sub muttered something about disrespectful bitches and Percy Jackson (of course it was him! Who else?) shouted, "Let her have it!"

All hell broke loose on that poor, poor substitute in the form of death-threats, verbal abuse, and high-velocity packs of post-it notes, as if it was one of those unrealistic, co-ordinated class attacks on teachers you get in books and movies. Oh, Hades help her.

oOo

Luke and Will came to my classroom while everyone was frantically packing their bags. Luke had entire _armfuls_ of paper, printed documents with notes, arrows, highlights, scribbles and underlines on in red ink. "So, someone came prepared."

"Ohhh, shit," I finally realised, looking at all the documents. "For the Trial, right?"

Percy, Annie, Piper, and Jason all turned their heads sharply at the word and I almost laughed. "Here, lemme look," I half-demanded.

I flipped through the papers and was highly impressed at his work. "Holy shit, Luke, this is amazing!" I exclaimed. "How the hell did you get this together?"

"Chiron helped. I couldn't have done it without him, so I'm not takin' the credit," he told us modestly. "He went to the police and asked for a bunch of his records and… I've got them here. There's medical, stuff he wrote, like poetry, which is hella disturbing. There's a bunch of other random shit, like the police records 'n' stuff."

"Here, Luke," Will offered. "You seem to know more than Nico and I combined. Do you want to come back to mine tonight?"

"Erm, yeah, sure," he blustered.

oOo

We rushed onto the bus, me and Will scanning our bus passes and Luke paying for a fare. We sat at the front, Will and I beside each other and Luke behind us, all our bags on the seat next to him. I had brought my empty black box file and a bunch of folders in rainbow colours, so we could sort out all of Luke's paper.

"So, Nico, do the file and the folders represent you?" Luke asked, holding back a chuckle.

"What d'ya mean?" I enquired, sifting through the disturbing poetry that Luke had given me to look through.

He smirked mischievously. "Well, the folder's black, right?"

"Yeah…" I replied, confused.

"And the folders inside are rainbow…" he continued.

"Yeah…" I countered, still not catching on.

"So, it's like you!" he exclaimed, turning a few heads.

" _How_?" I quizzed in a whisper.

"Keep it down!" Will scolded, hitting him on the head with a thick handful of papers.

Luke rubbed his head, but continued to playfully taunt me. "Well, you're all dark outside, but, inside, you're all _rainbow_!"

I scowled at him, but Will totally ruined the mood by catching me off-guard will a full-on kiss. I laughed a kissed back for a few seconds, before breaking away, blushing lightly. "Really, Luke?" I retorted, playfully angry.

"Yep, _really_ ," he replied, chuckling to himself.

"Immature," I scoffed jokily, before turning serious and holding out my hand. "Can you give me the rest of the poetry?"

Luke handed it over and I put it all in the red folder, clearly scrawling 'Poetry' on the label in my unique hand. "There we go."

"Why the red folder?" Will muttered under his breath, clearly not expecting a response.

However, I gave him one. "Sunshine, all the poetry's about spurting blood and gunshot wounds for Pete's sake! It kind of makes sense to put all the stuff about _blood_ in the _red_ folder. It's how my mind works."

He rolled his eyes, looking defeated, so I kissed him on the cheek out of sympathy. "C'mon, Sunshine," I coaxed.

Luke sighed. "Ugh, _couples_."

We all laughed. "So, do you have any… mental health records?" Will questioned hesitantly.

Luke nodded cautiously and handed them over. I felt like I was snooping through someone's private information (which I was, to be totally fair), something that shouldn't been seen, but I didn't – and still don't – care. We needed to know what mental health conditions he had if any, so we had a rough idea of how long his sentencing would be.

"Oh, shit, _that's_ disturbing," Will muttered, flicking through the pages. "Fuck, no! Nico, put it in a folder, would you?"

I pulled the paper from his hands and shuddered. "Bipolar… violent schizophrenic… Luke, did you know this?"

"I knew he had 'voices inside his head' when I was little, because he would literally talk to them, before… y'know, so I kind of assumed once I got old enough, but I never knew for certain until I got my hands on these."

"That's going in the orange folder…" I muttered. "You know what? Luke, can you sort it out?"

As soon as I handed it over, I fell asleep. Will caught me on his lap and smiled, kissing me on the forehead. He traced his patterns on my hand and my breathing slowed. I felt at peace.

oOo

I woke up at Will's stop, where he basically dragged me and Luke inside. We were greeted by a loud "Holy shit, Kayla!" and the predicable follow-up of "Don't swear, Lee!"

Kayla and Lee were laying in a tangled heap on the floor beside the banister, Kayla in a leotard and Lee in his normal clothes. "What the name of Olympus happened?" I exclaimed.

Kayla blushed, shamefaced. "I grabbed onto the banister and did a flip off it as Lee walked underneath."

Will facepalmed, as did I. "Come on, Luke, Nico."

I pointed to my cane and nodded to the stairs. Will sighed and picked me up. I struggled a little, but he laughed and kissed my nose, running up the stairs with me in his arms. Luke, now sick of being third-wheeled, picked up my cane and ran up after us. Austin looked at him pityingly and followed us up. "I can't see someone be third-wheeled, seriously," he told us, sitting down next to Luke.

Luke smiled gratefully. "Who third-wheels you then?"

"Chiara Benvenuti and Damien White," he replied, chuckling and shaking his head.

Suddenly, my heartrate leapt up when I read a few words of the 'mental conditions' papers. I started breathing quickly and erratically and my hands started shaking. All three of them knew what was going on, so didn't panic at all. Will calmly took me out of the room and into the 'games room', as well all call it. He pulled me into his lap and wrapped his arms around me. "Hey, there's nothing to worry about, Angel. Don't worry, Neeks, he's gone now."

I know you're meant to allow someone having a panic attack to move around, but Will and I established pretty early on that I preferred to stay as close to him as I could, rather that walk around and scream as many people did.

Eventually, my breathing evened out and my heartrate slowed down. "You okay?" he asked.

I nodded, still a little traumatised from the experience. He took my hand firmly and we walked out and up the stairs. Kayla passed us on the stairs and, due to an inside joke, quipped, "Don't kill each other."

"Wasn't planning on it!" Will called out as we went into his room.

Luke and Austin had started marking out key words and phrases with green ink, so we sat down and started to help.

I called Dad and told him I was staying over, which I did twice a week on average. Luke checked his phone, swore, and, with a "Crap, I gotta go home," ran out the door.

oOo

That's me for now. Regarding Hermes and the stalking, we're all suffering, but we're okay. Everyone's a little broken, after all.

Will and I might upload this to the internet at some point. Sure, it _is_ romantic, but I just want it to serve as a realistic reminder to all to stay safe and report anything that makes you uncomfortable. If you're reading this right now, we quite obviously went through with it.

Thanks for reading my story. May good fortune follow you all.

Arrivederci!

Nico di Angelo


	27. They're Thirty-Six Now - 'Will'

What's up, world? I'm Fury di Angelo-Solace and I'm fourteen years old.

I guess I should tell you a little bit about me, even though I'm blatantly boring. I'm a surrogate child of my Auntie Reyna and my Dad. I look exactly like Auntie Reyna, with chocolate brown bangs, dark brown eyes, and tanned skin.

I love SaltRock hoodies (too much, according to Maria) and I'm kind of obsessed with technology. No, not like the sewing kind, the computer kind. I'm particularly interested in Sim-Pods, so Auntie Annabeth's high-tech one is possibly the only reason I ever go around their house. I've been in there more than once, but don't tell Maria.

I'm the oldest (sadly, as 50% of my life is watching my little siblings get away with stuff I got bollocked for when I was littler) out of five, three sisters and a brother.

The first is Maria (named after our grandmama, who passed away). She's twelve and looks exactly like Auntie Kayla. She has really long red hair that she insists on putting in two French plaits that go into plaits and reach right down to her hips, that she really likes to whip around and hit people with. There's also Leah (named after Uncle Lee), who's nine, and looks like Papà and Auntie Bianca. Then we have the twins, Isa (it means beauty) and Fergus (it means strength), who are five. Isa looks like Auntie Reyna, and Fergus looks like Dad.

As I know Maria's probably going to ramble on something awful in her chapter, I'm going to launch right into how we found this.

Maria's a FanFiction addict. Her favourites to read are Harry Potter, Walden & Wake (gah, her stupid _Drarry_ fanfics!), as well as our Uncle's own Percy Jackson/Heroes of Olympus/Trials of Apollo series. She also has a scary obsession for horror. She was scouring random webistes, when she stumbled across an old Webnode blog called Knowles &Lake. There was a particular section called 'The Skittles Incident', with two little pieces at the beginning, one from each owner of the blog, then it launched into the main story, from the perspective of their half-brother and his boyfriend, alternating each chapter, telling each scenario from both perspectives.

Maria burst into my room while I was halfway through a battlefields match. She looked close to passing out from whatever had her worked up. "Go away, M, I'm busy," I dismissed, waving my left controller at her.

"You're not doing homework," she retorted. "I heard you tell Papà you did it all yesterday."

"Fine you got me, M," I sighed. "What is it?"

"Look at this, Fury!" she exclaimed.

I groaned as my game character got shot and set my controllers down.

"I don't see what's so…" I started, but she cut me off with a sigh.

She manipulated the page with her long, thin fingers, clumsily projecting the world news onto my board a few times. Finally, she managed it. "Look, Fury!" she exclaimed, leaping over my pile of books to get to the board.

I put my hands to the keypad and began to read. It was absouletly horrific. Okay, stalking, sure… Holy fuck, Papà got kidnapped! Oh my god… "Holy Hades, Maria!" I breathed.

She nodded numbly. "I guess this is what they mean when they say something traumatic brought Papà and Dad together, then…"

I shook my head, trying to dispel the words from my brain. I closed down the projection and pushed it to Maria to shut down. "Oh my _god_ , Maria," I muttered, putting an arm around my sister's shoulder and pulling her in close. "You okay?"

She nodded swiftly, already jumping to the logic of the whole revelation. And it explains why Auntie Bianca set up her Rape Crisis Centre. Sh… should we ask them?"

I pulled her plaits over her shoulders fondly. "What do you think, idiot? We can go over to Auntie Hazel's and ask her. It's more… respectful."

She winced visibly and I couldn't help but think about Louis Makasi, who had nicked his cousin's Levi Board and almost killed himself when he crashed into an office building. "Erm, how are we going to get there?"

"Not by Levi," I chuckled.

"So, how?"

"We can't take rail without Dad or Papà, so… the Snake?"

She groaned and I remembered how much she hated it. She'll explain what it is better than me, as I'll probably launch into complicated techie crap, so I'll leave that to her. "Sure, whatever," she shrugged.

I chuckled at her indifference and picked up my controllers. "Just let me finish this round."

She grabbed my other controllers and hooked up. "I'm playing."

We didn't leave the house until after lunch, as Papà and Dad were wondering why we were, a, getting along and, b, going out when we weren't obligated to.

We got to Auntie Hazel's house within the hour and I rung the bell. My adorable little cousin, who's ten, answered the door. "Fury!" she squealed. "Maria!"

We talked for almost an hour until Maria and I locked eyes and I nodded. She got out her phone and turned the screen to Auntie Hazel. "It's…" she stuttered, composing herself. "It's a horror story I found and… and we'd like you to take a look."

"Well put, Maria," I muttered sarcastically.

Auntie Hazel's face faded from amusement to horror when she read the summary. "Is it theirs?" we asked together.

She nodded. "It is. I'm going to tell them you're aware, but please do not bring it up unless they do."

We nodded simultaneously, then frowned at the other for copying us. "Will do."

Twenty-one years on, they're doing a-okay. If you don't believe me, here's two extracts of our lives now, just to prove it to you.

Sadly, Hermes Castellan got out of prison. His sentence wasn't much more than twenty years, put he was a sex offender for life, the restraining orders were still in place, and he had very strict parole orders which included not going out after ten, not talking to children with no visible adult, and not going near schools, playparks, and the like.

How did we find this out? Well, our parents quite obviously found out through Uncle Luke, but we found out in a slightly more… horrible way.

Papà and Dad had said that Maria and I were allowed to go off and look for what we wanted for Christmas, as long as we met them by the tub of soccer balls at the front of the store in half an hour. As we were ten and eight, we were 'grown up' and they were gradually nurturing us to be more independent. I had wandered off into the aisle that had all the doll houses, Barbies and the like, looking for something I could get Maria, with Dad or Papà paying, of course.

I was so absorbed in looking through the shelves and trying to find a somewhat tomboy-appealing dress-up doll for my sister that I only looked in front of me when I heard clacking shoes running right for me. Maria ran right into me, sniffling and sobbing. I stood up and pulled her to her feet, opening my mouth to lecture her on looking where she was going. That was until she pointed behind her at all tall man in a grey suit with an evil grin on his face. Instantly, I got bad vibes. My baby sister was tough: not just anything could glean this reaction from her. I yanked her into my arms. "Get away from my sister!" I yelled.

He walked faster and I fixed my hand around Maria's wrist, running as fast as I could, which, fortunately, was (and still is) very fast. "Papà!" I shouted. "Dad!"

They walked around the corner, Fergus and Isa in the pushchair and Leah holding Dad's hand. Papà's eyes locked onto the man and he paled dramatically, curling himself into Dad's arms. Dad had gone paler than I had ever seen him, his usually firm voice wobbling. "Fury, Maria, get back here!"

I dragged my sister back to his side and stared up at him expectably, waiting for orders. "Is Papà alright?" she stammered.

Dad shook his head and I felt terrified. "I need you to find a member of staff and give them a description of this man. His name is Mercury Olympus or Hermes Castellan," he told us.

"Like Uncle Luke?" she asked, curious.

I realised. I once asked Uncle Luke if he liked his real dad once I found out that Grandpa Chiron wasn't actually his dad. Uncle Ocky had told me his dad had done some bad things. Ah. "Yes," I told her firmly. "Come on, Maria. We have to go."

She slid her hand into mine again and we sprinted off. She began to cry and, as much as I tried, I couldn't shut her up. I took some tissues from the box when we go to the desk and gave them to her.

"How may I help you?" the lady asked. Her badge read 'Rainbow'.

"Maria Maria," I whispered softly, using her pet name. "Can you tell Rainbow here what happened?"

"I went up to a man and asked him where the scooters were. He went down on one knee and asked me what my name was. I told him Maria di Angelo-Solace and he said, in a really creepy voice, 'You'll be a good one' and he grabbed my wrist and…" Her voice went so quiet I could barely hear it. "He lifted up my dress and touched my pants."

That was _wrong_. I hated that man. I _hated_ him, _hated_ him, _hated_ him. I didn't care about anything else he had ever done. He had touched my sister in the _wrong_ way and wanted to kill him.

"And he has brown wrinkly skin, grey hair, and he's wearing a grey suit with a black waistcoat and a grey tie. Dad said his name was either Mercury Olympus or Hermes Castellan. It's obviously something bad because Papà fainted when he saw the man, and Dad sounded totally terrified," I blurted all in one breath.

Maria almost sighed at my 'I'm talking to an adult' voice. The woman called for five people and told us to go back to Dad and Papà. We ran past the entrance and I almost missed Auntie Kayla. She called my name and we walked over, panting. "Auntie Kayla!"

"I've just received a rather alarming text from your Dad," she deadpanned.

I frowned, seething with pure and utter hatred. "This will probably alarm you a lot more that it did us," I began, calmly and carefully. but a man approached Maria and lifted up her skirt and touched her underwear."

My voice was cracking on every second word, and my hands were balled into fists. "And I, quite frankly, want to _kill_ him for touching my sister in that way." I took a breath and drew Maria into my arms. "Hermes Castellan?"

She ran off, muttering curses. I ran after her, leaving Maria struggling to keep up.

The scene when we got back was nothing short of chaos. There were five staff members, two detaining Hermes, one making sure Fergus, Isa, and Leah were okay, and two talking to Dad and Papà, presumably about the kidnapping. Leah ran to Papà and Dad, sobbing out the whole story to them. I stood by awkwardly and added in what she missed, translating anything that was obscured by her tears. Papà balled his hands into fists and announced loudly, "I want to punch him." He looked at Dad. "Solace, can I punch him?"

"Not now, Angel, you idiot," he smirked. Leah giggled and tried to pick up Isa. Papà shook a finger, so she resorted to crouching in front of the pushchair and playing peek-a-boo with her. I walked over and picked up Fergus to I felt as if I had control of something and so I didn't murder Hermes.

Maria finally got out of Papà's embrace and marched right up to Hermes. I held my breath. Looking him right in the eyes, she told him, in a cool and collected voice, "I hate you. You hurt my Dad and my Papà. I hate you."

My heard screamed danger, but my heart screamed pride. Then she punched him in the nose and there was a loud crack. I was wondering what was broken: Maria's fingers or Hermes' face, but one look at Hermes' streaming nose told me all I needed to know.

Papà, although chuckling, managed to blurt, "Maria, get back here!" in a disapproving tone.

"Sorry, Papà," she pouted.

"Well done," he muttered.

" _Angel_!" Dad exclaimed, slapping him jokily on the arm.

We all broke down laughing.

We met Hermes Castellan in Walmart, and he hurt my sister. Let's just say, he might need a restraining order against _me_ in the future…

When I first met my cousin, I was less than impressed.

Charlie Jackson. This name will make most people cringe at the thought of the mess of crumpled too-big sweaters and knotted blonde hair that is my cousin. Despite her dog-eared appearance, like a book that's been lost and loved more than you care to remember, she's a smart-ass genius that's passed the Mensa test, but oh well.

I met her when we were little, but she was your average girl then. She ended up in my class in the second year of middle school and I wasn't impressed. 185lbs of dishevelled laid-back mess. She excels in class, so I can't complain but… ugh, she frustrates me something awful!

I walked into my English class and sat down next to Fai, who slapped me on the arm as a greeting. "Say, guess who we're stuck with for a year?"

"Who?"

"Charles."

I cast my eyes around the room until I spotted Charlie, wearing a pale blue too-big hoodie with 'Dream' stitched onto it, her hair an uncombed mop of blonde mess. I cursed under my breath when I saw that stupid thick A4 notebook she took notes in _all_ of class.

She walked over to me instantly. "Well, looks like I'm stuck with you for the next year."

"Oh, _brilliant_ ," I snapped. "Just remember, Leah has a book out and is working on her second, and we're sat here in English class learning passive voice. I think I know who has the famous author DNA here."

"Yeah? Well, look at _my_ parents!"

"The _first_ book was good," I groaned, dragging out my words. "The rest were interesting. Not good, there's a difference."

"They _were_ good!" she argued.

"I know, Charles, I'm just kidding."

"Don't call me Charles!"

"What's going on here, you two?" Miss Elcock asked in her teacher-voice, stepping between us. "Furious, speaking like that to someone you've only just met is uncalled for. If I hear that one more time, it'll be a detention."

"Oh, I'm so sorry, miss, honest. We're cousins, actually, and we're discussing whose dad is more famous," she explained in a sugared voice, turning back to me. "My dad's better at action and fantasy, yours is better at romance and real life, I guess?"

"Excluding HtH, yeah, I guess. Agreed?" I asked.

"Agreed." We jokily shook hands.

"Are you actually related?" Miss Elcock asked. "You look nothing alike."

"Our parents are practically like siblings to each other and have been since childhood, so we consider each other cousins. However, those two," she droned in a bored voice, pointing to me and Fai. "Are also the same kind of 'cousin' that we are, but they're basically best friends."

"Oh, okay, thank you," she replied, turning away.

We were all still chattering away and catching up, so it took her forever to shut us up.

"Okay, if you want me to call you something different, tell my when I call your name." She opened the register and started taking attendance. "Zoe Adams?"

She got to Charlie's name. "Charlotte Jackson?"

"Charlie, yes miss."

When she got to my name, I cringed harshly. "Furious di Angelo-Solace."

"Fury, yes miss," I corrected.

"Now, ten minutes to chat and catch up, then it's into our first lesson of boring admin!" she shouted.

Fai snickered and I snorted. This teacher was cool.

"Who _are_ your parents?" a girl asked, looking up from her book. 'Buried Under Snow', I noticed. And she had the first Percy Jackson book on her desk.

"Well, look on the front covers of both your books and I do believe you have the answer," I replied.

She looked at the front of the books and gawked at me. "Fury di Angelo-Solace at your service," I grinned.

"And Charlie Jackson," she smirked.

We locked eyes and laughed. "Okay, maybe you're _not_ so bad, Charlie," I observed.

"Not too bad yourself, Fury."

"I still hate you!" I called after her.

"Love you too!"

So, that's the end of my story. We're not sure when or how to break it to the others, but we will, in time.

I babysat Hylla and Lizzie with Fai and it was one of the worst decisions I've ever made.

So, we had decided that Monopoly and Scrabble were _not_ appropriate games for kids, so we settled on Kerplunk and baby Cluedo, even though we probably wouldn't need them.

We knocked on the door and my Auntie Rachel (still covered in charcoal, mind you) crushed us in hugs and we wriggled away from her. She then ran around trying to hug Lizzie and Hylla, and the reactions were pretty much polar opposites. Hylla ran away yelling, "No, Mama's _dirty_!" while Lizzie ran into her arms shrieking, "Yay, _messy_!"


	28. They're Thirty-Six Now - 'Nico'

Ciao, I'm Maria di Angelo-Solace, named after my late grandmama.

I'm twelve, but I'm really grown-up, as they say, as I know all the horror stories about kidnappings and being alone on the streets at night, and sexually explicit books and fanfictions, the works.

There's five children in the di Angelo-Solace family: Fury, myself, Leah, Isa, and Fergus.

Fury's fourteen and is a surrogate of Dad and Auntie Reyna. He has coffee-coloured skin and deep chocolate-brown eyes, with dark brown bangs that hang down over his right eye and down to his shoulders. He loves coding and inventing, as well as talking to Auntie Annie about her Sim-Pod and messing around with circuits.

I'm twelve, as I've already said, but a mature twelve. I was born through surrogacy, my surrogate mother being my Auntie Kayla, and Papà the donor. I have long red hair always plaited in two French plaits, pale skin, and freckles covering my nose and cheeks. I have Auntie Kayla's hair, freckles, and eyes (we say they're Dad's eyes because they're genetic from Grandpa, so they have the same eyes, so I'm a little bit like Dad), and Papà's skin tone, as well as his sarcastic quick wit, and obsession with writing. It's unhealthy at this point. I usually wear my jean jacket covered with badges, along with my ankle-length lace dress which buttons from the hips up, and my tatty red converse.

Leah's nine and already has Dad's love for writing, just as I do, except, while I'm drawn to journalism and drama, Leah likes writing friendship stuff for little kids, like Jaqueline Wilson, as well as romance, and she also loves horror and suspense. I'm sure she'll be writing romance by the time she's my age. Also, she wrote most of this description, I'm not kidding. She's a surrogate of Auntie Kayla and Papà, and looks exactly like Papà, with a long black plait, olive skin, innocent round eyes that appear onyx, but are dark purple on closer inspection. She even wears black jeans, converse, leather jackets, and black t-shirts. She still has friends though, which is odd for her looks. I guess eight-year-olds don't judge. She's named after my Uncle Lee, by the way, who was really ill when she was born, so ill they thought he might die. He's alive now, though, so there's no need to worry.

Then there's the twins, Isa (which means beauty) and Fergus (which means strength). They're five years old and already like their parents. Isa looks exactly like Auntie Reyna, from the chocolate-brown locks, pretty complexion, and beautiful eyes, right down to the plump cherubic lips, big feet, and long pianist's fingers. Her hair's cut in a sharp bob which she chose herself. She's a really authoritative girl already, and I can already see her doctor-y side coming through. Fergus is a miniature Dad, with the blonde curls that are brown at the roots, the sky blue eyes, and his towering height. Dad's already teaching him piano and Auntie Bianca loves helping him sew.

I have exactly… hang on, let me go and count… twelve uncles and… fourteen aunties. I'm related by blood (and adoption) to exactly six of them, the rest are through marriage and Pops' and Dad's best friends that are practically siblings to them.

Here's a list: Uncle Percy and Auntie Annie, Uncle Jason and Auntie Piper, Uncle Frank and Auntie Hazel, Uncle Leo and Auntie Callie, Auntie Reyna and Auntie Rache, Uncle Cecile and Auntie Laura, Uncle Conner and Auntie Lou, Uncle Luke and Uncle Ocky, Uncle Austin and Auntie Holly, Uncle Lee and Uncle Butch, Uncle Jake and Auntie Kayla, Auntie Bianca and Auntie Thalia, Auntie Meg, and Uncle Michael.

One of my Uncles (Uncle Percy) became a famous author at eighteen. He and his friends had this silly imaginary world when they were around twelve, based around the Greek Gods. It went huge and all the money went to Auntie Annabeth's Architecture business (Olympus Architecture – Architecture Fit for the Gods!) and Auntie Bianca's Rape Crisis Centre. Oh, the series name? Percy Jackson, his own name. He is the main friggin' character. They wrote a damn sequel series in 3rd person, and Grandpa Apollo wrote a freaking _third_ series, and it blew up. All the money went to various trust funds, charities, businesses, our houses, and such.

Papà's a writer too, and he's written books such as 'Highway to Hell', 'Liar, Liar, It All Backfired', 'A Backwards Glance', and 'Don't Look Back', which all hit big, and they're all teenage adventure or love. He also does detective work (forensic crime) sometimes. He's also part of a troupe of historians that go around to different schools, mostly elementary and middle, to do performances of moments in history to educate us in a 'fun' way. My personal favourite is the Oliver Cromwell after-death re-enactment, and anything to do with King Henry VIII because Papà and Dad were doing a project on it when they met.

Also, Auntie Annie has a prototype Sim-Pod in their house. She uses it to go and see architecture and walk around ancient sites without people seeing her there, but she once let me and Fury use it to go to Venice, where I shoved him into the canal and he pulled me in. It felt so real, like we were actually there, actually drenched in dirty canal water. We had headaches for a week after using it, as we pushed the limits by making it simulate water, but we might use it again sometime soon.

Another point to make is that we own a lot of books. Like, actual, factual, paper books, instead of projections or downloads. Most families have a few, but we have a reading nook under the stairs, as we live in _Nonno's_ old house. Fury's books are scattered carelessly over his bedroom floor, tattered and tearing, as are mine, but _Leah's_ are neatly on my shelves on the wall to the left of my desk of special books and notebooks, the books being our own Percy Jackson series, the Hunger Games, Artemis Fowl, Harry Potter, and the Wake and Walden series.

Anyhow, I should get to how I stumbled across this story.

I'm well-known for knowing all the worst stories, but, recently, I stumbled across an old story on a blog called 'Lake&Knowles'. There were over two million likes, a million shares, and one million, five hundred thousand comments. I read the summary and was instantly hooked by my father's names. And the fact it was real. I read the entire thing through and almost had a freaking heart attack. It _was_ theirs.

I, of course, went running to my brother to show him. He, at first, shooed me out of his room ("Go away, M, I'm busy." "You're not doing homework. I heard you tell Papà you did it all yesterday." "Fine, you got me, M. What is it?"), but gave in after I caught him out.

"Look at this, Fury," I exclaimed, shoving my laptop in front of him.

"I don't see what's so…" he began, and I sighed irritably.

I reached out towards the screen and manipulated it to the page I wanted with my hands on the fragile screen, accidentally projecting the world news onto the wall several times over. Eventually, when Fury stopped jogging me, I got there, projecting it onto his board, which was much worse than mine, I might add, because he kept breaking his. "Look, Fury!" I exclaimed, running to his board, picking my way over his stack of Harry Potter books.

He almost fainted when he'd finished reading. "Holy Hades, Maria!"

I nodded. "I guess this is what they mean when they say something traumatic brought Papà and Dad together, then…"

He shook his head slowly, closing down my projection and letting me shut down my laptop. "Oh my _god_ , Maria." Then he did something that surprised me. He put his arm around me and pulled me to his side. "You okay?"

I nodded. "And it explains why Auntie Bianca set up her Rape Crisis Centre. Sh… should we ask them?"

He pulled my plaits over my shoulders. "What do you think, idiot? We can go over to Auntie Hazel's and ask her. It's more… respectful."

I winced, remembering how someone in his year at school had stolen a Levi Board and almost killed himself. "Erm, how are we going to get there?"

"Not by Levi," he assured me.

I sighed in relief. "So, how?"

"We can't take rail without Dad or Papà, so… the Snake?" he suggested.

I groaned. The Snake was a public mode of transport that was basically a metal belt with cushiony seats and perches for laptops and such, with clear plasma going over the whole ordeal in a bubble. "Sure, whatever."

He laughed and picked up his controller, focusing his attention on the project wall once again. "Just let me finish this round."

I ran for the other controller and linked up. "I'm playing."

We eventually set foot out of the house after lunch, which was bruschettas and pannacotta, and got on the Snake. We got to Auntie Hazel's and rung the bell. Marie, who's ten, answered the door. "Fury! Maria!"

We were ushered in and sat down in the living room. After almost an hour of chatting, Fury and I gave each other _the look_. He nodded and I got out my phone, showing Auntie Hazel the story. "It's... it's a horror story I found and… and we'd like you to take a look."

At first, she chuckled at my horror obsession, but that laughter quickly faded when she saw what it was. "Is it theirs?" we asked, looking at each other.

She nodded sadly. "It is. I'm going to tell them you're aware, but please do not bring it up unless they do."

We nodded in understanding. "Will do."

So, it's twenty-one years on, and they're doing fine. However, if you don't believe me, here are some happenings from the past few years, to show you they're well and happy. Okay, so, maybe not the first one, but it's _enormously_ significant, so I had to include it.

I saw a man in Walmart. He was standing in the doorway of the storage room. He had dark, wrinkled skin, his hair and beard were grey, and he was wearing a smart grey suit. He looked very old, sixty at least. I had this strange eight-year-old mentality that all men that wore suits were kind and nice, so I went up to him, stepped into the room, and asked him if he could tell me where the scooters were.

"What's your name, darling?" he asked, kneeling to my height.

Alarm bells went off in my head for some unknown reason, but I replied, being the naïve little kid I was. "Maria di Angelo-Solace!" I replied proudly, head held high and stuck my chest out.

He reached out for my wrist. "Ah, you'll be a good one," he whispered, his hand lifting up the hem of my skirt.

I was paralysed with fear, in the most cliché way, at the worst time possible. I knew this was _not right._ I was still frozen in place when his finger brushed my underwear. I suddenly got a rush of emotions and jerked away. "No!"

I felt bad instantly and began to offer my wrist back out, but decided against it and ran back down the aisle, ruby-red shoes clacking on the floor. He began to follow me and I began to cry. "S… st… stop it!" I spluttered.

I ran into Fury while looking over my shoulder. I fell down and he yanked me upright, ready to yell at me, until I, still sobbing and snivelling, pointed at the man. Fury, unlike me, at the time, acted on his instincts and pulled me to his chest. "Get away from my sister!"

He began walking faster and Fury ran too, pulling me along behind him. "Papà!" he shouted. "Dad!"

Papà and Dad came around the corner, Dad holding Leah's hand and Papà pushing the pushchair with the twins in. When Papà saw him, his usual olive tan was gone in an instant. He turned as white as a sheet and fainted into Dad's arms. Dad had gone scarily pale. "Fury, Maria, get back here now!" he ordered, his usually commanding voice wobbling.

I hesitated, but Fury didn't need to be asked twice. He gripped my wrist hard and dragged me back to them. "Is Papà alright?" I asked.

Dad shook his head, breath coming fast. "I need you to find a member of staff and give them a description of this man. His name is Mercury Olympus or Hermes Castellan."

"Like Uncle Luke?" I asked.

The penny dropped for Fury. "Yes," he interrupted. "Come on, Maria, we have to go."

I held his hand tight and we took off running, past the next aisle, and the next aisle, and the next. I started sobbing again and Fury couldn't stop it. I was given tissues when we got to the customer service desk. "How may I help you?" the lady, whose name was Rainbow, asked.

Fury took several shaking breaths. "Maria Maria," he called out softly, using my pet name. "Can you tell Rainbow here what happened?"

"I went up to a man and asked him where the scooters were. He went down on one knee and asked me what my name was. I told him Maria di Angelo-Solace and he said, in a really creepy voice, 'You'll be a good one' and he grabbed my wrist and…" I took several snuffling deep breaths and blew my nose, then said, in a small voice, "He lifted up my dress and touched my pants."

"And," Fury interjected quickly, face flushed bright red with fury and seething hatred. "He has brown wrinkly skin, grey hair, and he's wearing a grey suit with a black waistcoat and a grey tie. Dad said his name was either Mercury Olympus or Hermes Castellan. It's obviously something bad because Papà fainted when he saw the man, and Dad sounded totally terrified."

Eyes dry, I looked a Fury with a 'really?' look. He was using his 'I'm-talking-to-an-adult-and-this-will-have-more-effect-if-I-sound-innocent' voice. The woman's face flushed and she alerted five people via those walkie-talkie things. She told us to go back to our parents. We dashed past the entrance and almost walked past Auntie Kayla, frantically looking around. "Fury!" she called out, and we ran over.

"Auntie Kayla!" we gasped.

"I've just received a rather alarming text from your Dad," she told us.

Fury furrowed his brow. "This will probably alarm you a lot more that it did us, but a man approached Maria and lifted up her skirt and touched her underwear." His voice was shaking, as were his fists. "And I, quite frankly, want to _kill_ him for touching my sister in that way."

He hugged me tight and I only now appreciate how protective and kind my brother is.

Auntie Kayla flushed and looked awfully angry, then Fury blew her top. "Hermes Castellan?"

She ran past us, muttering curse words. Fury gave me _the look_ and I groaned, massaging my ankles and running after him.

When we got back to Dad and Papà only a minute later, and someone was detaining Hermes. I ran to them and blubbered out the whole story. Papà balled his fists and announced, "I want to punch him. Solace, can I punch him?"

Yes, they still call each other di Angelo and Solace. "Not now, Angel, you idiot."

It's funny to hear them blend their affectionate nicknames into insulting sentences. Once I wriggled out of Papà's protective hug, I marched over to Hermes, looked him right in the eyes, and told him, in the coolest voice I could, "I hate you. You hurt my Dad and my Papà. I hate you." Then I punched him. In the nose. And I apparently either didn't know my own strength or I had punched one too many punching bags at summer camp that year, because there was a sickening crack that made everyone in earshot wince. I broke his nose.

Even though Papà was holding back laughter, he managed to splutter, "Maria! Get back here!" and sound disapproving.

I trailed back over, shamefaced. "Sorry, Papà."

"Well done," he whispered.

" _Angel_!" Dad exclaimed, whacking him on the arm jokily.

Auntie Kayla almost had a seizure of laughter.

And that was the time I met Hermes Castellan.

"Fury, Maria! Auntie Bianca and Auntie Thalia are here!"

Now, I like laying in, don't get we wrong, but my Aunties coming over is just too good of an excuse to get out of bed. I threw on whatever, which was a 'Keep It Simple' t-shirt and blue jeans. I was still plaiting my hair as I ran down the stairs. "Auntie Thalia!"

She caught me as I jumped the last step, hugging me in the air before setting me down. "Maria!"

Leah pushed past me and basically _demanded_ Auntie Bianca's attention. "Auntie Binny!"

Auntie Bianca hugged and kissed her, before turning to Papà. " _Fratello_!"

He smiled and hugged her. Auntie Bianca always looks so young, even though she's two years Papà's senior, so it's only around him that I truly realise how _old_ Papà looks. " _La mita belle Sorella_ ," he replied. "How's it going?"

" _Stupefacente_ , Nico. You?"

"Wonderful. Oh, I haven't shown you the draft of 'Buried Under Snow', have I?" he realised.

"You've _done_ it?!" she exclaimed. "Oh, I _have_ to see!"

They walked down the hall to Papà's office, laughing and jesting all the way.

Dad awkwardly turned to Auntie Thalia and she leapt on him with a hug. He smiled, more at ease now, and lead her into the sitting room. We followed, bickering as we walked.

Sometimes, you just want to kill people. And this was exactly the case with Josie Evans. I've been friends with Charlotte and Ethan Jackson ever since I can remember, and it started when we had to go in groups of four and, because Cherokee wasn't coming in from her holiday until the following week, Josie Evans got shoved into our group. I was highly annoyed for no reason other than I found her irritating. Until icebreakers.

We were talking and getting to know each other, and I was telling a story. Now, I knew there was a very small group of homophobic people still around, but I didn't really think much of it, as everyone I've met is so nice about it.

"So, we were going in the hot tub for one last time before we'd clean it out, and I asked Dad if we could put bubble mixture in the tub. He looked at me like I'd gone insane, but then Papà said 'We're going to clean it out anyway. Why not?' So Fury got the bubble liquid, mixed it in, and turned on the jets. And everything was bubbles. They rose like five feet above the tub and we even picked Leah up and threw her in."

Ethan was practically having a seizure of laughter and Charlotte was saying that they should do that. Then Josie spoke up. "Your parents are gay, then?"

"Yeah," I replied, pulling my plaits over my shoulders.

"That's wrong."

"No, it isn't!"

"God created us so we could fall in love and bring him children. It is physically impossible to have a child between two men or two women. God didn't want this. Any anomaly God did not create is wrong."

"Well, _that's_ impeccable logic!" Ethan snapped. "If you're saying two men can't fall in love because of my religion, that's like saying 'you can't have this cake because I'm on a diet'! Plus, two women _can_ have a child through science, and, quite frankly, I don't believe in God."

"So, what books do you like?" Charlotte asked, trying to steer the conversation away from homophobia.

"I'm reading 'Highway to Hell' right now," Josie told us in her whiney voice.

We held back our laughter. "That's pretty sweet," I chuckled.

"Did you know my dad wrote the Percy Jackson series?" Charlotte piped up.

"Liar," Josie snapped.

Ethan rolled his eyes. "I'm not about to waste my time arguing with an idiot. So, Charlotte, how'd Buried Under Snow coming along for your dad?"

"Reasonably well. I've read through it a couple of times, but he's scrapped so many chapters he'll need to completely rewrite the draft," I explained.

" _Damn_ ," Charlotte muttered. "How d'you think Cherokee's getting on?"

"She text me earlier. She'll be eating dinner around about now," Ethan announced.

"What?" Josie blurted.

"She's in London. Eight hours ahead."

Then Miss called us back to her attention. "I'm going to go around and you have to tell me one thing you've learnt about someone else in your group."

She picked Josie first. "I learnt," she began in her high-pitched, obnoxious, whiney voice. "That Maria's a lesbian."

"I am _not_!" I exclaimed, face flushed as red as my hair.

"Your parents are gay. That makes you lesbian," she sneered.

"It does not. I don't see any sort of logic in that," Ethan told her calmly. "Did you learn anything else?"

Josie frowned at him, defeated. "That she has four siblings. Two brothers and two sisters."

We moved onto me. "I learnt that Ethan and Charlotte's dad is the author of the Percy Jackson series, that Charlotte has an English penpal called Harry, and that Josie is Christian and homophobic."

My last comment elicited laughter from most of the class. Charlotte was next. "I learnt that Maria's dad's a trauma surgeon and is set to retire and go into a family practice in four years."

I nodded. "Yep."

Someone across the class smiled softly. "He's probably saved so many lives."

"Including Papà's," I whispered under my breath. "Yeah. My auntie has a book of newspaper clippings with stuff like 'Dr. Solace has done it again!' and such. It's hilarious."

"Wait, _Doctor Solace_?" a girl exclaimed.

I nodded, confused. "Yeah, why?"

Her eyes were shining. "He operated on my brother once."

I blushed. "Really?"

"Yeah. He saved his life."

We swiftly moved onto Ethan. "I learnt that Maria's… sorry, what do you call him again?"

"Papà, but you can just say father," I explained. He _always_ got this wrong, as he was so used to calling him 'Uncle Nico'.

"Oh, okay. Maria's father is Nico di Angelo-Solace, author of 'Highway to Hell', 'Liar, Liar, It All Backfired', 'A Backwards Glance', 'Don't Look Back', and the upcoming 'Buried Under Snow'."

The entire class gawked at me, but Josie stuck her nose in the air. "No way. You're lying."

I groaned. "My name is Maria di Angelo-Solace on the register, and I'm in the acknowledgements for Highway to Hell."

"No, you're not. Look."

She showed me the dedications in the front. 'Dedicated to my amazing sisters, Bianca, Hazel, and Reyna. You've made this book possible.' I sighed. "No, that's the dedication. Go to the acknowledgements in the back."

She rolled her eyes. "Oh, _really_? Let me check."

I saw her upper hand disappear as she read the acknowledgements. 'Thanks to my wonderful husband and five children, for letting me write anywhere in the house at whatever obscure time. Right now, that's the window seat in Maria's bedroom as she plays Monopoly with Fury, Leah, Isa, and Fergus.' She groaned. "Fine."

She's less annoying now, but there's always the possibility of making Papà add in a villain called Josie for his next children's' book…

See, I _told_ you they were alive and well! Anyway, this is truly the end of this story now, so I'd like to thank you all very much for reading and I hope you have an amazing day. And don't forget, this is a warning. Be safe and report _anything_ dodgy.

Anyway, that's all I have to say. I hope you enjoyed the ending to the story, though my writing isn't a patch on Papà's nowadays. Stay Strong and have a good morning, afternoon, evening, or night!

Ciao!


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